Brenda Returns
by kellicb
Summary: ...my idea for May sweeps 2008 . FYI, I started to write this before some of the current storylines have occurred so that's why they may not be included. Also, I will be skimming over medical things. Probably not giving things names, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Brenda Returns – Chapter 1

On the 10th floor of General Hospital, the elevator door opens and Brenda Barrett walks off of the elevator.

Jane Jacks is standing at the nurses' station.

"Mrs. Jacks, your daughter-in-law just called and said her meeting is running a little late. She asked, if you could wait here a few minutes for her," the nurse tells Jane.

"Oh, thank you," Jane says before turning around.

Brenda notices Jane and gets a big smile on her face. She walks over to her. "Jane?"

Jane turns around and smiles with a surprised look on her face.

"Brenda!"

She opens her arms and the two embrace.

"Look at you, you look wonderful," Jane says as she holds onto Brenda's hands. She takes a step back to get a better look at her.

"So do you! God, it's so good to see you," Brenda says.

They squeeze each other's hands.

"I know it happened awhile ago, but, I'm so sorry about John," she says soberly.

Jane nods and is still holding onto both of Brenda's hands.

"Thank you. Some days it's harder than others, but I have my sons and my grandchildren to get me by."

Brenda gets a confused look on her face and their hands drop.

"Grandchildren? Please tell me Jerry hasn't procreated," she laughs"And I didn't mean to ease drop, but did I hear correctly? You're waiting for your daughter-in-law?"

Carly walks up behind Brenda.

"I hope you didn't have to wait too long, Jane."

Brenda turns around and watches Carly as she walks over to Jane. Jane and Carly embrace and then she turns to Brenda.

"Hi Brenda. I didn't know you were back."

Brenda raises an eyebrow. "I'm not back…really. Just a quick visit."

"So, what brings you back to Port Charles?"

Brenda looks at Jane. "Wait a minute. Carly is the daughter-in-law you're waiting here to meet?"

Carly smiles. "That's right. And I believe the grandchildren she was talking about are Michael and Morgan. They adore their Grandma Jane," she says squeezing Jane's arm

Jane nods. "And they're such precious boys."

Brenda places her hands on her hips and shakes her head. "Wow….I really thought Jax had better taste than this."

Jane tilts her head slightly. "Now Brenda, Carly is a lovely young woman and she makes Jax very happy."

"Oh, I'm sure she does," she mumbles.

"And he makes me very happy and he's a great father to the boys. So, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing in Port Charles….Brenda?" Carly asks.

"Oh, I was in New York so I thought I'd stop by and see Robin."

"How lovely," Jane smiles.

"Very," Carly says flatly. "Jane, we should probably get going."

"Yes, you're right. Brenda, it was so good to see you again. I hope to see you before you leave town?"

The two embrace again.

"I'll make sure of it."

Brenda looks over at Carly with a disgusted look. "Carly."

"Good bye, Brenda," Carly says before following Jane over to the elevator. She stares in Brenda's direction as soon as she gets on the elevator and doesn't stop until the doors shut.

As soon as Carly and Jane walk away, Brenda walks over to the nurses' station.

"Hi. Can you page Dr. Scorpio for me?" she asks one of the nurses.

The nurse nods and picks up the phone.

Brenda walks over to the waiting area and notices Jason walking down the hall. She smiles and starts walking over to him quickly.

"Jason!" she practically squeals.

Jason smiles and then prepares himself for her jumping on him. He catches her and hugs her tight, then gently sets her down.

"Oh my God….look at you! It's so good to see you," she says.

"Yeah, you too. How is Europe?" he asks.

"It's great. Thanks again for all of your help. You know, before, when I left."

Jason looks down and shakes his head. "It was nothing. I'm just glad you're happy."

"I am. Soooo, what's new with you? You still working for Sonny? Are you seeing anyone?"

Jason starts to answer but a nurse walks over to him with Jake.

"Here you go, here's daddy," the nurse tells Jake right before she hands him over to Jason.

"Thank you for bringing him out to me, I had to take that phone call," he tells her.

"No problem." She smiles at Brenda before she leaves.

Brenda's mouth is practically hanging open. "Daddy? I guess I don't have to ask what's new with you, huh? Jason, he's beautiful."

Jason smiles like a proud father. "Thank you. Let me introduce you properly. Brenda, this is Jake. Jake, this is an old friend of mine, Brenda."

"It's nice to meet you, Jake."

Her smile is big as she looks at Jake. She waits for a few seconds before her curiosity gets the best of her.

"Well?"

Jason squints and quickly shakes his head. "Well, what?"

"Who is Jake's mom? Is it anyone I know? And please don't tell me it's Carly," she says, rolling her eyes.

Jason chuckles. "No, it's not Carly."

Brenda shrugs. "Ok, I give…"

"It's Elizabeth Webber."

Brenda's mouth practically drops open again. "Wow…didn't see that one coming. Wait….Robin, told me that she was married to Lucky."

Jason nods. "Yeah, she was…..it's a long story."

"Well, he's gorgeous and you look very happy. Fatherhood agrees with you, but I always knew it would."

"Thanks."

Robin walks over to the nurses' station.

"Someone paged me?" she asks the nurse.

The nurse points over in Brenda's direction. Robin smiles and thanks the nurse. She walks over in Brenda and Jason's direction.

Brenda is playing with Jake's fingers. "He looks like you."

"I always thought so too," Robin says as she stops and watches the trio.

Brenda screams and throws her arms around Robin, who returns the embrace.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Port Charles, I would have moved my shifts around?" Robin asks.

Brenda shrugs. "It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I had something I had to take care of in New York and decided to take the train here so I could see you."

"Well, I'm going to leave the two of you to catch up. Jake needs to get home before he gets fussy anyway. It was good to see you again," Jason says while touching Brenda's arm.

"You too. I'll come see you before I leave. You still at the penthouse?"

Jason shakes his head. "No, not anymore…."

"I'll give her directions to the house," Robin says.

He nods and walks to the elevator. Brenda grabs Robin's hand and pulls her over to sit on the couches.

"You look great. So, what's it been like being back in Port Charles?" Brenda asks.

"It's great. I was worried when I first came back, but it's home, you know?"

Brenda nods and looks down at her hands. "Yeah," she says almost sadly.

"So, what about you? How is Italy?"

Brenda tosses her hair back. "Italy is great. I mean, it's beautiful, the food is good. The men are hot.." they both laugh and Brenda glances over at the desk. "Speaking of hot. Who is the hot doc?"

Robin smiles and looks over at Patrick.

"Oh, that's Dr. Drake."

"He can take my temperature anytime," Brenda says.

Patrick turns around and sees Robin so he walks over to them.

"Dr. Scorpio, I'm sorry to interrupt your consult…..I just have a quick question about a chart."

Robin tries not to smile at how professional he's being.

"That's okay, Dr. Drake," she says seriously. "Give me just a second," she says to Brenda before standing up.

When Robin stands next to Patrick, she reaches up and pulls his head down for a kiss, which startles him and amuses Brenda.

"Uhh, why did you do that?" he asks.

"Because, this is my best friend, Brenda….not a consult," Robin teases. "And she thought you were hot so I had to make sure she knew you were taken," she says, winking at Brenda.

Brenda stands up. "Well, you could have just said so," she teases"It's very nice to meet you…."

They shake hands.

"Patrick. And it's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you."

"Uh oh. Only some of it is true and usually it was someone else's fault."

Patrick's amused. "I'm sure. Well, again I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion but Robin, Mr. Meadows is here and I would really like it if you could be there, as well."

Robin glances at Brenda.

"It's okay," Brenda says. "We'll have dinner or something, right?"

"We better. Oh, do you need a place to stay?"

Patrick's phone rings so he walks away to answer it.

"No, I'm good, I'm staying at The Metrocourt."

"Oh….okay. Have you checked in yet?"

"Yeah, why?"

Robin shrugs. "Just wondering."

Brenda raises her eyebrow. "You don't usually just wonder. What's up?"

Robin sighs. "Well, Jax owns The Metrocourt. Along with his wife…"

Brenda slowly nods. "Oh right….of course he does."

"You didn't blink when I said his wife," Robin says.

"Yeah, well, I already ran into Mrs. Jacks."

"Oh, how did that go?"

Brenda smiles. "Carly is Carly. It's okay, Robin," she says, touching Robin's arm. "I'm not here for Jax. I just wanted to see my best friend."

Robin smiles and hugs Brenda again. "Good. I'm glad you did. I'll call you later and we'll make plans."

"Count on it," Brenda says before Robin joins Patrick by the elevator.

Brenda smiles as she watches Robin and Patrick walk away and then her cell phone rings. She smiles and picks it up.

"Hi sweetie."


	2. Chapter 2

Brenda Returns – Chapter 2

The next morning, Jason and Elizabeth are outside in their yard playing with Cameron and Jake on a swing set. They're laughing and having fun. Brenda walks up and smiles at them.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day."

Jason looks up and subtly waves off the guards that can't even be seen.

"What's that?" he asks as he stands up and walks over to her.

"That you'd look like this real domestic dad. Hi Elizabeth," Brenda waves.

"Hi Brenda. Jason mentioned you were back in town, it's good to see you," Elizabeth returns the greeting.

"It's good to see you, too. Hi boys," she says and waves over at the kids. "You have beautiful children."

Elizabeth stands up, holding Jake and walks over to stand next to Jason.

"Thank you," she says. "Would you like something to drink?" she asks, knowing that she should give them privacy. Brenda didn't just stop by to say hi.

"Water would be fine, thank you."

"Sure thing."

Elizabeth looks up at Jason.

"I'll take the kids inside so you two can talk."

He nods and kisses Jake on the top of his head and then gives Elizabeth a gentle kiss.

"Come on Cameron, let's go inside and play," she says before taking his hand and going inside.

Brenda walks around the play area and then looks up at the house.

"Nice place."

"Yeah. It's good for the kids to have room to move around and be able to come outside and play," Jason says as he nods and looks around the yard.

Brenda smiles at Jason. "You look happy."

He looks down, smiles and nods before looking back up at her. "I am."

"No, I really mean it. I've never seen you look this happy….like ever."

Jason chuckles. "I've never been this happy. Elizabeth and the boys mean everything to me."

Brenda gets a little choked up before speaking again. "Yeah, kids will have a way of doing that to you."

"Brenda, what's wrong? I could tell when I saw you at the hospital that something wasn't right. Did you run into Jax or someone else, maybe?"

Brenda shakes her head and wipes a tear away.

"No, I haven't seen Jax, yet. I don't plan on it either."

Jason shrugs. "You're bound to run into him."

"I know. I'll handle it when I do."

Her phone rings. She looks at it. "I'm sorry, I should take this."

She answers it and turns her back to Jason. Elizabeth comes out with two bottles of water.

Brenda walks away a few steps. "No, I know, but now isn't a good time. I can talk to her later. I don't want to disturb…no." She says something in Italian and then her whole demeanor changes. Her face softens and her voices sweetens. "Hi….I miss you, too. I know….I'm really far away. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Elizabeth gives Jason a confused look. "Is she talking to a child?"

He shrugs.

"It sure sounds like it," she says before handing him the two bottles of water.

He thanks her and she goes back inside.

"Okay, I love you too," Brenda whispers before handing up.

She walks back over to Jason with a plastered smiled on her face and takes the bottle of water he offers.

"Sorry about that. Thank you."

"Not a problem. Everything okay?" Jason asks.

Brenda smiles up at him. "Yeah, everything is fine."

"Would you like to sit down?" Jason asks.

Brenda looks around and smiles over at the swing on the porch so he follows her as she walks over there.

"You know, if I still lived at my cottage, we'd be neighbors."

Jason smiles and nods. "I remembered the area."

They sit down.

"So, are you still working for Sonny?"

Jason slowly nods. "Yes."

"And Elizabeth is okay with it?"

"She understands the danger of my business. But it's who I am."

"Yeah. I guess if Sonny can raise two children…."

Jason nods.

"How is he, anyway?"

"He's fine."

"Is he seeing anyone?" she asks, not sure if she should go there.

Jason nods. "Her name is Kate Howard."

Brenda's mouth drops open. "The fashion magazine editor?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," she says, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm sure Sonny doesn't need you to take care of her like you always had to with me."

They both smile at the memories.

"Not really."

"I'm sure _I_ was the last person you wanted to take care of. But you always did…." She glances up at him with appreciation.

"Yeah, well, Sonny asked me to."

"Not when I left Port Charles. You pretty much saved my life, Jason, and it wasn't something Sonny asked you to do."

"I don't know if I'd go that far."

"I would," she says softly. She turns slightly so she's facing him more. "Actually, that's why I'm here."

Jason gives her a questioning look. "To save your life?"

"Yes….in a way. I need your help again, Jason."


	3. Chapter 3

Brenda Returns – Chapter 3

_Sonny's coffee shop (later that day)_

"Yeah, Jason, I need to have a quick meeting, do you think you can make it by the office today?" Sonny asks as he leans over his desk in his office.

"Today?" Jason asks. He rubs his eyebrow. "I don't know. I promised someone I'd do something for them."

"What? Who? Elizabeth?"

"A friend."

Sonny sits back in his chair. "Well, tell Carly that I need you here, today. She can get her husband to help her with whatever it is."

"It's not Carly."

"Okay, then who is it? Because this is important."

"It doesn't matter who it is, I just can't make it today. I'll be in first thing tomorrow morning."

Sonny looks up at the doorway just as Kate walks in. "Tomorrow might be too late. I'll just have Max help me. Whoever this is, it better be important."

"It's for Brenda."

Sonny blinks a few times and looks away from Kate. "Brenda? What…what can you do for her all the way from Italy…or wherever she is? Can't she get someone who's a little closer to help her?"

"She's not in Italy, Sonny. She's here….in Port Charles."

Sonny doesn't say anything.

"You still there?" Jason asks.

"Yeah, I'm still here." Sonny throws down the pen he was holding. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Sonny hangs up the phone.

Kate sits on the edge of his desk. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Sonny gets up from his chair and walks over to her. She watches him but doesn't move. He pulls her into a hug.

"Sonny? You're scaring me now."

Confused by this action, she wraps her arms around him to give him comfort. He pulls back, but stays close to her.

"You look beautiful today," he says, rubbing strands of her hair between his fingers.

"Thank you."

He leans in to kiss her but they stop when someone at the door clears their throat. They both look over and see Brenda standing at the door.

"Sorry to interrupt," Brenda says.

Sonny pulls away from Kate.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Kate asks.

Brenda's eyebrow raises. "The door _was_ open…nothing to knock on."

"Well….may we help you?" Kate asks, annoyed.

"Uh, Kate…." Sonny starts.

"No Sonny, this is just rude."

"Kate…it's okay, really," he smiles.

Kate notices the way Brenda and Sonny are looking at each other.

"You don't look surprised to see me," Brenda says.

"I just talked to Jason, he mentioned you were in town."

Brenda nods and then holds out her hand to Kate.

"You must be Kate Howard. I'm Brenda Barrett."

Kate glances at Sonny before shaking Brenda's hand.

"Brenda," she nods, "it's nice to finally meet you. You don't know how hard I tried to get you for a photo shoot for our magazine."

"Really? I'm sorry that never worked out."

Kate nods and there's awkward silence.

"Uh, Kate. Why don't I meet you at the restaurant for lunch?" Sonny asks.

Kate tries not to look hurt. "Oh all right." She looks over at Brenda. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too."

"I'll see you later," Kate says to Sonny. She gives him a quick kiss.

"Bye," Sonny says.

Kate shuts the door as she leaves.

Sonny smiles at Brenda and looks her up and down. "You look good. How have you been?"

Brenda looks around the room. "I've been good. How about you? What's all this about?" she asks, sweeping her arm around.

Sonny offers her a chair and then sits down himself as she sits. "I do run a coffee business, you know?"

Brenda nods and smiles. "Riiiggghtttt. I'm sure that keeps the cops from asking questions."

Sonny shrugs. "I do what I can. How long are you in town for?"

"Just a few days. I had some business to take care of in New York and wanted to see Robin."

"Then what are you doing _here_?" he asks, rubbing his chin.

"Okay….and I wanted to see other friends, too."

Sonny nods. "Have you seen Jax yet?"

She shifts around nervously. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? No, I don't plan on seeing Jax."

He shrugs. "Well, you were going to marry him…..more than once, I might add. I mean, _he_ stood you up at the altar, not the other way around."

"Yeah, well, so did you," she answers quickly.

"Touché."

"Did it kill you to see Carly marrying Jax?"

Sonny contemplates his answer. "I wasn't very happy about it, at first. But, believe it or not, Jax and I have made our peace."

Brenda's eyebrows raise. "Really? Wow. Something _I_ could never get you two to do."

"Things change when there are children involved. We get along for Michael and Morgan's sake."

Brenda gets a far look in her eyes.

"Brenda?" Sonny asks.

Brenda's attention snaps back. "Hmm? Yeah, that's great."

"Everything okay? Jason mentioned he was taking care of something for you."

"Oh that," Brenda waves it off. "Yeah. He's just helping me out with something."

"You sure? Because, if you ever need anything, I'll help you any way I can, you know that?"

Brenda smiles softly. "I know that. But it's okay. I should probably go," she says, looking at her watch. "I promised Robin I'd meet her for lunch."

Sonny and Brenda both stand up. He walks around the desk and pulls Brenda into a hug.

"I'm glad you came by to see me," Sonny tells her.

"I am too, actually. I wasn't sure if I was going to. But I'm glad I did," she says smiling at him.


	4. Chapter 4

Brenda Returns – Chapter 4

After her lunch with Robin, Brenda takes a walk on the docks to clear her head. She sits down on one of the benches.

Elizabeth is pushing Jake in an umbrella stroller. She slows down when she sees Brenda.

"Hi Brenda," she says cautiously.

She stops the stroller right in front of Brenda.

Brenda looks up. "Oh hi. She looks down and smiles at Jake. "Hey there big guy."

"Can you say hi to Brenda, Jake?" Elizabeth asks, looking down at Jake.

Jake babbles a little bit and both women smile and laugh.

"Close enough," Brenda says chuckling.

"Do you mind if I sit here for a few minutes?" Elizabeth asks.

Brenda scoots over a little. "No, not at all."

Elizabeth sits down and pulls Jake's stroller around so they can both see him.

"Jake had his one-year check up today and I decided to take him to Kelly's for some ice cream," Elizabeth explains.

"One year, huh?"

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah, time flies."

"Yeah, it does," Brenda agrees. "I can't believe I've been away from Port Charles for as long as I have."

"How long has it been?"

"Five years."

Elizabeth shakes her head. "Wow. A lot has happened in those five years."

"Yes it has. Hey, I hope its okay that Jason is helping me. I don't want to cause any problems or anything. I just needed a favor…."

Elizabeth stops her. "Brenda, its okay. I trust Jason. I know you guys are friends and I, for one, know how loyal Jason is to his friends."

Brenda smiles and nods. "Yeah, no matter what, I could always count on him. Even when we really couldn't stand to be in the same room with each other."

Elizabeth laughs.

"You guys started off as good friends, didn't you?" Brenda asks.

Elizabeth nods and smiles over at Jake. "Yeah, we did. And one night, I turned to Jason when I didn't think I had anywhere else to go and…."

"….and 9 months later?" Brenda finishes.

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah."

"Children do change everything…." Brenda says as she stares out at the water.

Elizabeth looks at her curiously. "Yes, they do."

Brenda snaps out of her trance.

"Robin mentioned that you guys kept Jake's paternity a secret for awhile. To protect Jake."

Elizabeth slowly nods. "Yeah. We both thought it was safer that way."

Brenda turns her head to look at Elizabeth. "Did you keep it from Jason, too?"

Elizabeth shrugs and nods slowly. "At first."

"Because you thought it was for the best, for your baby…."

She nods. "Right. It killed me to keep it from him, but I thought it was safer for my unborn child and at first I thought…"

"You thought what?" Brenda asks curiously.

"I thought that it would be better for Jason if he didn't know." She shrugs. "A couple of people made me think it would be better that way. That it would be better if the child I was carrying wasn't his because of his lifestyle."

Brenda nods and stares out at the water again.

Elizabeth shakes her head. "But it wasn't….not for Jason."

They're quiet for a few moments.

Brenda makes the first move. "Well….it was good to talk to you and to see this little guy," she says, wiggling Jake's hand, "but I really should get going."

"Oh okay. I hope everything works out okay."

Brenda gives her a worried look as she stands up.

"With whatever Jason is helping you out with," Elizabeth says quickly.

"Right…yeah, thanks. Bye. Bye Jake."

Elizabeth watches her as she walks away. "Bye."

A few hours later Brenda is standing on the dock, talking on her cell phone.

"Yes, this is Brenda Barrett. Hi Dr. McNeal, yes, Jason Morgan gave me your number…said you might be able to help me?"

She listens intently to the other person on the

"Right. I gave the doctor in Italy permission to share the medical records with you…. Oh good, you did already?" she nods._ "_But do you think you can help?"

Her eyes begin to tear up. Jax walks onto the upper part of the docks and stops and stares down at her.

"But, I was really hoping you could come to Italy with me. I'll pay your way, money isn't an issue."

She bows her head and bites her lower lip.

"Oh….okay, I understand. So, you can come to the East Coast? I'm in Port Charles, New York right now. Okay, good. I'll have to make travel arrangements. Is early next week okay?"

She wipes a tear away.

"Okay, good. I'll be in touch. Thank you."

She closes her phone and stares out over the lake as Jax descends the stairs.

"Hi," he says.

Brenda turns quickly to look at him.

"Oh, hi," she says.

He slowly walks over to her. "Carly mentioned you were in town. I was wondering if I was going to see you."

"Yeah….well, it's a small town. How are you Jax?"

He nods. "I'm good. You?"

She puts her phone away and nods. "I'm good, too."

He nods again. "Good. You still living in Italy?"

"Yeah. I love it there."

"Good….good. It's beautiful there."

Brenda nods.

"So…you and Carly, huh? I never would have guessed that one," she smiles at him.

He chuckles. "Yeah. I think it took me by surprise, as well."

Brenda looks up at him with a serious look on her face and then slowly smiles when she sees the twinkle in his eye.

"I'm sure it did. I uh, saw Sonny. He said that you guys are actually getting along now? Considering you married his ex-wife, I find that hard to believe."

He shrugs. "I don't know if I'd call it getting along but we do what we have to…..for the boys' sake, of course."

She nods. "That's good. I'm sure Michael and Morgan are so big by now."

"Yeah, they're great."

Brenda watches Jax closely. "Well, good. I'm glad that things seemed to work out. You have Carly and her sons…you and Sonny don't want to kill each other every time you see each other…."

He smiles and bows his head. When he looks up, he takes a step closer. "Brenda….I…."

Brenda holds her hand up to stop him from speaking. "Don't…"

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry for hurting you. I….." He stops and shakes his head, not sure what else to say.

She shakes her head. "That's in the past now. I've moved on and obviously you have as well. And I'm happy for you, I really am," she nods.

Jax takes her hand and looks at it. "Thank you….and you're happy?"

Brenda stares at their hands, slowly looks up at him and smiles as tears start to brim her eyes.

"Yes, I'm very happy," she whispers.

He squeezes her hand and lets it go.

"Good," he nods. "I uh….I really need to get to a meeting, but it was good to see you."

"Yeah, it was good to see you, too."

Jax turns to leave and looks back at her one more time.

"Bye Brenda."

"Bye Jax," she says with a wave.

She watches as he walks away, takes a deep breath and tries not to cry. She picks up her phone and checks the time, does a quick calculation in her head and starts to dial.

When the person on the other end picks up she says, "Hi Maria….I need you to do me a huge favor…I need you to come to Port Charles."


	5. Chapter 5

Brenda Returns – Chapter 5

At the Port Charles Airport

Brenda chews her lower lip, nervously. She shifts back and forth from foot to foot.

"Jason, thank you for coming with me. You really didn't have to, I would have been fine," she says, looking up at him.

He shrugs. "It's not a big deal."

"And if I haven't thanked you enough for arranging for us to stay in that house. I felt like everyone would be more comfortable if we didn't meet at the hotel."

"It's not a problem."

She takes his hand and squeezes it.

Her attention is diverted quickly when she hears a small girl yelling mommy.

"Hey there, baby girl," she says, bending down with her arms wide open.

Brenda grabs the little girl in her arms and lifts her up, holding her tightly. Jason smiles at the pair as a middle-aged woman approaches them with a smile.

"I've missed you so so much," Brenda says before kissing the small girl's cheek.

"I've missed you too, Mommy."

Brenda smiles, hearing those words. "Did you have fun on the plane with Maria?"

The little girl nods. "Uh huh. It was a long ride, though."

Brenda sets her down and ruffles her hair. "Yeah, this was the longest you've ever been on a plane, wasn't it?" She looks up at the woman standing next to Jason. "Hi Maria, thanks so much for doing this. I know it's taking you away from your family."

Maria nods and smiles. "That's okay, I'll do anything for this little one…." She says in her thick Italian accent.

Brenda smiles at her. She then takes the little girl's shoulders and pulls her so that she's standing with her back to Brenda's legs and gives her shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, there's someone I want you to meet. He's a good friend of mine….his name is Jason."

Jason crouches down so he's eye to eye with the child.

He smiles warmly at her. "It's nice to meet you, Hope."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Hope says shyly.

"You sure are a beautiful little girl."

Hope smiles and blushes and moves in closer to her mom's side.

Brenda chuckles. "What do you say?"

"Thank you," Hope says in a quiet voice.

Jason smiles and stands up. "You're welcome."

Brenda turns her attention back to Maria. "And this is Maria. She's Hope's Au Pair and such a tremendous help and friend to me."

Maria holds her hand out to Jason. "It's very nice to meet you, finally. Brenda has spoken of you many times."

Jason almost winces. "Uhh, that might not always be good," he says, giving a quick smile to Brenda. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"You guys must be tired," Brenda says, looking at Maria but giving Hope's shoulders a squeeze again. "We only have a couple of hours until the doctor arrives. It wouldn't make sense to go to the house and then come back again…"

"If you want to go to the house with them, I can wait here for him," Jason says.

Brenda cocks her head a little. "Are you sure? You don't have to do that."

He waves her off. "It's okay, I can make a few phone calls while I wait. You go spend time with your daughter and friend."

She gives him an unsure look, but shrugs. "Okay. Well, you have my cell number, so call me if you have any questions or if you need me for anything…"

He cuts her off before she keeps rambling.

"Brenda…..Brenda, its okay, really. I know how to reach you."

"Right. Okay….you hungry?" she asks, looking down at Hope.

Hope nods.

"We'll get something on the way. Does that sound okay, Maria?" she asks as the three of them walk toward the exit.

A few hours later, Brenda paces around the house as Maria watches her.

She looks at her watch again before saying, "Jason should be here by now. He left the airport twenty minutes ago."

Maria looks up from the book she's reading. "You seem to trust this Jason a lot."

Brenda stops pacing. "I do. I've trusted him with my life, many times."

"Is he….."

Brenda cuts her off and shakes her head, "No."

Maria stands up and walks over to Brenda.

"I didn't mean to pry, I just thought maybe….the blue eyes. But _he_ is here….in Port Charles, isn't he?"

Brenda looks away from Maria when she hears a car door shut.

"They're here," she says, her heart starts to beat rapidly.

She races to the door and opens it before Jason can even knock on it. Jason walks up with the doctor behind him.

"Hi, you must be Dr. McNeal. I'm Brenda Barrett, it's nice to meet you," she says when they reach the door. She shakes the doctor's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Dr. McNeal says.

Jason raises his eyebrows in question. "Uh, Brenda you wanna…." He motions to the door.

Brenda steps out of the way. "Oh right, come inside. I'm sorry, I'm just a little anxious."

Jason nods at Maria when they get inside.

Brenda takes the doctor's jacket. "Thank you so much for making this trip. I'm sure you've a very busy man."

"I just hope I can help. I've reviewed the tests already done on your daughter, but I'd like to run some more," he says.

Brenda stops folding his jacket over her arm. "More tests?"

Maria decides to take her leave. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Water would be fine, thank you," Dr. McNeal says.

Maria nods and leaves the room.

Brenda lays his jacket across a chair. "I'm sorry, I should have offered…"

"It's okay," he stops her. "I know you've been through a lot in the past few months."

Brenda nods. "And so has my daughter. I was really hoping she wouldn't have to go through anymore tests. I don't know how many more needles can be stuck in her little arms anymore," she says, rubbing her own arms up and down.

Jason walks over to her and rests his hand against her back. "I'm sure the doctor understands that and wouldn't put Hope through anymore than she has to, right?"

"Absolutely. I'm not going to duplicate any tests that have already been run. I'm trusting the doctors in Italy did a good job with those tests. I have a couple of ideas and actually….it's a good thing you had me meet you here, in Port Charles."

"Why is that?" Brenda asks, cautiously.

"There's a doctor at General Hospital that I'd like to have consult on this case. From what I understand, she's done some research on a similar type case already."

Brenda glances up at Jason before turning her attention back to the doctor. "And who might that be?"

"Dr. Robin Scorpio. I actually thought that's maybe why you were here, in Port Charles."


	6. Chapter 6

Brenda Returns – Chapter 6

Brenda looks at Jason before turning to talk to the doctor.

"I don't know…I have to think about this," she almost stutters.

She starts to pace.

The doctor gives Jason a confused look.

"I don't understand. What is there to think about?" he asks.

Jason holds up his hands. "It's a long story. Would you like to see Hope?"

"Yes, I'd like that," the doctor says.

"Is she upstairs?" Jason asks Brenda.

Brenda realizes that they are talking to her and pulls her attention back to them. "Yes, but she's probably taking a nap. Give me a minute before you come up."

Both men watch her as she ascends the stairs.

Jason waits until he feels Brenda's out of hearing distance. "You just have to give her some time. There's a lot of history here in Port Charles for Brenda. "

Maria returns with the water and a small tray of sandwiches.

"In case anyone is hungry," she says as she sets the tray down.

"Thank you, Maria. We're going to go up and see Hope now," Jason tells her.

Maria nods and Dr. McNeal follows Jason up the stairs.

When they reach the room, Brenda is sitting on the bed next to Hope.

"The doctor is just going to ask you some questions and take a look at you," Brenda reassures her daughter.

"I didn't think I had to go to the doctor here, mommy," Hope says, almost on the verge of tears.

Brenda pulls her close to her. "You're not….not today. But, remember what I said? The people at the hospital are going to help you, so you don't feel so tired all the time."

Jason knocks on the opened door.

"Should we come back?" he asks.

Brenda wipes a tear away and shakes her head. "Nope. Come on in."

Dr. McNeal walks over to the side of the bed. "Hi Hope. I'm Dr. McNeal. I heard you're not feeling so well, so I'm here to try to help you."

"Can you say hi?" Brenda asks, gently squeezing Hope's shoulders.

"Hi."

He sits down on the other side of her on the bed.

"Can I take a look at your eyes with my flashlight?" he asks.

Hope nods and turns more toward the Doctor. Brenda is still holding onto her a little bit.

Dr. McNeal flashes a light into both eyes.

"Very good, thank you. The last report from Italy stated that her pupils were getting cloudy, they seemed to have cleared up some."

Brenda nods. "Yes, they gave me some eye drops to give her every night before she goes to sleep. They seem to have been helping."

"Good," Dr. McNeal says.

Dr. McNeal asks a few more questions.

"Hope, thank you for answering my questions so well. You look tired, so I'm going to let you get back to your nap, okay?" he asks.

Hope nods and looks at her mommy.

"I'll be down in a minute," Brenda tells Dr. McNeal.

A few minutes later, they all are downstairs in the living room.

"She liked you," Brenda tells the doctor. "That's very important, I think."

She shoves her hands in her jean pockets.

The doctor nods. "You have a beautiful daughter. I think it's in your best interest to hear me out completely and trust me."

Brenda glances at Jason who gives her a reassuring look.

"Okay," she says. "Just tell me what to do."

Dr. McNeal nods. "First, I'm going to go over these notes with Dr. Scorpio."

Brenda starts to say something but the doctor stops her. "I won't give her any names or information….yet. Whatever your reason for not wanting to involve Dr. Scorpio….I suggest that you work that out."

Brenda nods. "I will."

"Thank you, doctor," Jason says as he walks the doctor to the door.

He grabs his coat on the way.

"Dr. McNeal…" Brenda stops him.

He turns to look at her.

"Thank you."

He nods. "We're going to get your little girl the help she needs."

She smiles at him as tears brim her eyes.

Jason closes the door behind the doctor and walks back into the room.

"Jason, you don't have to stick around, you have a family of your own…"

"Why are you doing this?" he asks, holding his hands out.

"Doing what?"

"Keeping all of these secrets?"

Brenda walks around the couch and shakes her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Jax is Hope's father, isn't he?"

She bows her head down and doesn't say anything.

"You don't even have to answer that. I knew it the moment I saw her. She's the right age….her eyes…."

Brenda bites her lower lip and holds back her tears.

"I don't understand why you'd keep this from him? His life isn't dangerous, he isn't a terrible person…"

"I had my reasons at the time," she says loudly.

Maria pokes her head through the kitchen door. "Is everything okay?"

Jason turns to her. "Yes, Maria, I'm sorry we startled you."

"It's okay, Maria," Brenda says.

Maria nods and lets the door close.

Jason walks around the room and shakes his head. "I can't agree with what you're doing….I was there, Brenda," he says sternly. "I know what it's like to be kept away from your child."

"I know you do and I'm sorry that I'm asking you to do this…"

He stands there with his hands on his hips.

"This is why I almost didn't come to Port Charles," she says.

"Because you knew your lie would blow up in your face?"

"Yes!" she snaps.

She slowly sits down on the couch and puts her face in her hands. She pushes her hair away from her face and looks straight ahead.

"What are you going to do?" she asks.

"It's not for me to decide, but the first thing you should do is talk to Robin, right away."

"Yeah, I'll call her later this afternoon. Once I've given Dr. McNeal a chance to go over the case with her."

Jason nods. He goes over to the door and picks up his jacket.

"Call me if you need anything else, okay?"

Brenda nods.

"Jason…" she stops him once she hears the door open.

He stops but she doesn't turn around to look at him.

"Thank you."

He pauses for a moment and then leaves.


	7. Chapter 7

Brenda Returns – Chapter 7

Brenda opens the door and greets Robin.

"Hey," Robin says. "I didn't realize you were staying long enough to rent a house," she says as she walks past Brenda.

"Yeah, well…" Brenda says. She smoothes out her jeans. "Have you had dinner yet? Do you want something to eat?"

Robin sets her purse down and turns back around to face Brenda.

"No, I'm okay, thanks."

"Okay. Good."

Robin looks amused. "What's going on?"

Brenda offers Robin a seat on the couch.

"I have to tell you something….and I don't want you to get mad," Brenda says, sitting on the chair next to her.

"Okay," she replies, hesitantly.

"Did you meet with a Dr. McNeal today?" Brenda asks, leaning forward and clasping her hands together.

"Brenda, I can't talk about any of my cases with…"

Brenda cuts her off. "That case is about my daughter."

Robin stops talking with her mouth slightly open and all she can do is blink.

"I want to explain…" Brenda starts.

"I don't know what to say."

Brenda looks at her hands and then looks back at her best friend. "About her condition or the fact that I have a daughter?"

Robin licks her lower lip. "Let's start with the fact that you have a daughter. From what I remember, she's about 4 ½ years old?"

Brenda nods.

"Which means she was conceived in early 2003…."

"Yes," Brenda says quietly.

Robin takes a deep breath. "I don't understand why you'd keep something like this from Jax, Brenda."

Brenda stands up and walks around the coffee table, wringing her hands together, nervously.

"At this point, nothing I can say is going to make sense….but Jax hurt me – a lot," she says, touching her chest.

"I know that."

"I didn't realize that I was pregnant until I got to Italy. By that time I was settled there. I don't know how many times I tried to pick up the phone and call him to tell him…"

"What stopped you?"

"So many things. Mostly my pride, I guess. I thought maybe this baby would help my heart heal. Jax was always the person who helped me pick of the pieces of my life, you know?"

Robin nods sympathetically.

"When Sonny left me standing at the altar….Jax was the one who was there. This time, it was Jax who left me. The one person who I trusted the most," she says through tears.

"I can only imagine what you were going through, Brenda, but does that give you the right to keep the fact that he was going to be a father from him?"

"I felt that way, at the time."

Brenda sits down again. She rubs her face.

"I didn't have an easy pregnancy. The doctor told me that if there was any stress in my life, I would jeopardize the pregnancy. I was pretty much bed ridden for most of the nine months…"

She stares off into space and smiles.

"When she was born, God she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Robin smiles softly.

"It was just easier to live my life with my baby in Italy. I convinced myself that if Jax found out, he'd try to take her from me."

Robin shakes her head. "You know Jax isn't like that…"

"I was suffering from post-partum depression, I wasn't thinking clearly. No one could have told me anything that made sense at that point."

"I'm so sorry, Brenda. Why didn't you call me, or email me? I would have done anything to help you…"

"I know you would have. But again, it was just easier to keep my secret, to live the life I had been living. I didn't want to get anyone in the middle." She rubs her temples. "I know, I know it doesn't make sense and it's not fair and not right…but it's the way it is. I can't change anything now. I have to move forward."

Robin sits back a little bit and nods.

"Okay, let's talk about her case. I really wish you had come to me as soon as you found out she was sick."

Brenda starts to cry. "I was so scared. The doctors there had a positive outlook at first, so I didn't think I needed to go to any specialists…"

"I took the file home and haven't gotten a chance to look at it carefully, yet…" Robin starts.

"That's okay."

"I can say that after talking with Dr. McNeal, we came away feeling positively about her case. There are some drug treatments that haven't been tried yet."

"Not an operation?" Brenda asks, hopefully.

Robin shakes her head. "That would be the last resort. At least, in my opinion."

"What are the side affects?"

"Everyone reacts to them differently. One of the drugs is like chemotherapy, so she could loose her hair and get sick…those kinds of reactions."

"What's the worst case scenario?"

"The operation. She'd most likely need a donation and usually the match comes from one of the parents. You've already been tested, I'm assuming?"

Brenda looks down at her hands and nods. "Yes."

"And you're not a match?"

She looks up and wipes a single tear away. "No, I'm not."

Robin gives her a sad look. "That's okay. That's the last resort, remember?"

Brenda nods. "Right."

"But Brenda….you are probably going to be here a few weeks, you really should consider telling Jax. He's bound to run into you at the hospital."

"What if we do the treatments at a clinic or an office somewhere? Or another hospital?"

Robin bites her lower lip. "Everything I need and all of my clearance to work is at GH."

Brenda nods slowly.

"Mommy…" a small voice from upstairs yells.

Brenda looks upstairs and then back at Robin.

"You want to meet her?"

Robin stands up with Brenda. "Of course."

"I'll bring her down."

After a few minutes Brenda comes downstairs with Hope. Robin smiles brightly at the little girl.

"Hope, this is your Aunt Robin, you remember me talking about her?" Brenda asks once they reach the living room.

Hope nods and rubs her eye with her free hand, the other hand is still holding onto Brenda's.

"Hi Hope. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Hope says.

"I like your Princess pajamas."

Hope smiles and looks down at her gown. "Thank you."

"Hey, guess what?" Brenda asks Hope as she crouches down so they're eye level. "Aunt Robin is a doctor and she's going to help Dr. McNeal make you feel better."

"Really?" Hope asks, looking at Robin.

"Really," Robin nods. "Maybe you could come visit me at my work tomorrow?"

"Okay," Hope says.

Brenda tenses up a little. "Already?"

"No sense in waiting."

They visit a little bit longer and Brenda takes a tired Hope back up to bed.

When she comes back down, Robin is gathering her jacket and purse.

"So, what time tomorrow?" Brenda asks.

"Call me in the morning and we'll set something up," Robin says and stops at the door. "And I suggest you tell Jax really soon because as soon as people see Hope, they're going to know. No way in denying it."

Brenda nods. "I know. I'm reminded of him every time I look at her," she whispers. "Thanks," she says, giving her friend a hug.

"You're welcome. We're going to beat this," she says, giving Brenda's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I know," she smiles.


	8. Chapter 8

Brenda Returns – Chapter 8

As soon as Brenda, Maria and Hope walk into General Hospital, Brenda becomes paranoid of her surroundings. She knows the truth is going to come out, but she's just not ready for everyone to know, yet.

She looks around, nervously.

"Maria, Dr. Scorpio's office is on the Eighth floor, can you go ahead and take Hope up there? I'll be right behind you," Brenda says.

"Of course," Maria replies.

"Mommy, I want to stay with you," Hope pleads.

"I'll be up in a minute. Go ahead, go with Maria."

She leans down and gives Hope and kiss on the forehead.

They get into the elevator as Brenda waves to them as the door closes. She looks around and takes a deep breath.

Maria takes Hope's hand as they get off of the elevator on the Eighth floor. They head straight to the nurses' desk.

"Hi, may I help you?" Nadine asks.

"We have an appointment with Dr. Scorpio, can you show me where her office is?" Maria asks.

Nadine smiles and walks around the desk.

"Just follow me."

They start to follow Nadine but a shoe from Hope's doll falls off.

"Oh, wait a minute," Jax says as soon as he gets off the elevator. "I think you dropped this."

Nadine, Maria and Hope all stop and turn around.

Jax bends down to pick up the shoe and holds it out to Hope.

Hope smiles and immediately walks over to the stranger, which is something she usually doesn't do.

"We don't want your doll to get cold feet, now do we?" he asks as the little girl stops in front of him.

She shakes her head and takes the shoe from him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you need help putting it on her?" he asks sweetly.

She holds the doll and tries to get the shoe on herself but doesn't have any luck. Maria is watching the pair closely.

"Yes, please."

"Here, let me help you with that," Jax tells Hope.

Robin had decided to meet them so she joins them in the lobby and stops when she sees Jax kneeling down next to his daughter, helping her with her doll's shoe. It actually pains her heart a little to see this touching scene, knowing that he has no idea that that is his daughter.

She walks over to them, to try to hurry things along.

"Hi Hope, I see you made a new friend," she says to them. "Hi Jax."

"Hi Robin," Jax says, standing up. "How could I resist such a beautiful young lady whose doll was in distress?"

Robin smiles at him. "Always the hero."

She reaches down and takes Hope's hand.

"Did you thank Mr. Jacks?" Robin asks Hope.

"Yes, she did, actually. She was very polite. You are very welcome, Hope," Jax says.

"I'll see you later," Robin tells him before she walks away with Maria and Hope.

"Bye," he returns. He watches the trio walk down the hall and smiles.

A minute later, Brenda reaches the Eighth floor. She almost freezes when she sees Jax standing at the desk.

"Hi," she says to the nurse and to Jax.

Jax turns around when he recognizes her voice.

"Hi," he says. "Everything okay?"

She nods. "Yep. I'm here to see Robin," she says casually.

"Oh, Dr. Scorpio is with a patient right now," Nadine says.

"Oh okay. Well, can you tell me which way her office is and I'll come by later?"

"Sure, it's down that hall. You'll make a right around the bend and you'll see her office on the right."

Brenda nods. "Great, thanks. So, how are you today?" she asks, turning to Jax.

"I'm good. I just had a run-in with an adorable little girl who needed my rescue, so that made my day," he chuckles.

"Needed your rescue?"

"Her doll did, actually. Lost shoe."

Brenda's heart melts but she can't let that show. "Oh."

"You okay?" Jax asks, reaching out to touch her arm.

She pulls away without making a big deal about it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to go wait for Robin," she says, pointing toward the hall. "Bye."

"Bye," he says, watching her carefully as she heads to the hall.

Once she's out of his eyesight, she leans back against the wall and takes a deep breath. That was too close.

She finally gets to Robin's office and knocks before letting herself in.

"Hi, sorry," she says.

"Mommy," Hope says as she sits across the room on a couch.

"It's okay," Robin says. "We're just getting to know each other better. I was asking Hope some good questions, I hope that's okay?" she asks, looking at Brenda.

"Yeah, you know I trust you to ask the right things."

She takes a seat next to Hope. "You okay?"

Hope nods.

"I uh, heard your dolly lost her shoe," Brenda says cautiously and slowly looks up at Robin for a reaction.

"Yeah, but a nice man helped me put it back on, so it's okay," Hope says.

Robin and Brenda stare at each other a few more seconds.

"Let's get this show in the road, shall we?" Robin asks. She sits down across from them.

She goes over what she knows about the case and talks to them about procedures they've already tried.

"I really do think this experimental drug might work."

"The one that would have the same affects that chemo would?" Brenda asks.

"Yes, that one. We can try a small dose and see what kind of affect and reaction Hope has to it."

Brenda looks down and then looks over at Maria, who gives her a reassuring smile.

"Okay, let's do it."

"Good. I'll need to get approval from the Board in order to get it, but that shouldn't be a problem."

They sit and talk for a few more minutes.

"I really have to get going, I have another appointment in fifteen minutes," Robin says, looking at the time.

"Oh okay, we don't want to keep you. Thank you so much, Robin," Brenda says as she stands up and gives her friend a hug.

"Don't thank me yet. But I'll do my best to get this little girl healthy," she says, smiling down at Hope.

"Maria, can you take Hope down to the car while I ask Dr. Scorpio a couple more questions?"

Maria gives Brenda a suspicious look and then reaches out her hand.

"Of course. Come on Hope."

"I'll see you in a few minutes, sweetie."

"Okay, bye mommy. Bye Dr. Robin," she says, looking up at Robin.

Robin smiles back down at the little girl and then reaches down and gives her a hug.

"Bye Hope. I'll see you in a few days and I'll try to make you feel better, okay?"

Hope nods and leaves with Maria.

As soon as the door shuts, Robin looks back at Brenda.

"Tell Jax now," she says.

Brenda starts to pace and rubs her forehead. "I know, I know. What happened earlier?"

"I went out to the lobby to see where you guys were and I saw Jax kneeling down next to Hope, helping her doll with her shoe," she shrugs. "It was a very sweet moment. Does Maria know who the father is?"

Brenda stops for a second and shakes her head. "No."

"Well, she might now. With the two of them standing next to each other like that….God, she's the perfect combination of the two of you."

Brenda tries to fight the tears that are coming to her eyes.

"And Brenda….Jax is on the Board and there's a good chance they're going to want the patient's name. They'll definitely need her history."

"Can't you say the patient wants to be kept anonymous because she's a minor?"

"We'll see, but you still need to tell him. Today was too close for comfort."

"I know," Brenda says softly. "I'll figure this out."

Robin gives her a reassuring look. "Call me if you need me, okay?"

Brenda nods and gives her a hug one more time before leaving.

When Jax comes home, Carly looks up from the contract she's looking over and smiles.

"Hi, you're home early," she says. She sets the contract aside.

"Yeah. I just wanted to get home to see my wife," he says as he rounds the couch.

He sits down next to her and leans over to give her a kiss.

"Aww, that's nice. Now, what's the real reason?" she asks, with a twinkle in her eye.

He chuckles. "No, really. I didn't have any pressing things to do at the office or the Hotel so I decided to come home early. The boys home from school yet?" he asks, glancing at the stairs.

Carly raises an eyebrow. "No, not yet."

"Hmmm," he says with a mischievous smile as he starts to lean in closer to her.

"Why, what did you have in mind? Chess, maybe?" she asks as she leans back on the couch a little.

He smiles and shakes his head. "No, not chess…."

She wraps her arms around him as he starts to kiss her neck. "Oh, I got a new backgammon set."

His fingers find the buttons of her blouse.

"Okay, this definitely isn't backgammon," she moans.

"I want to make a baby," he whispers into her hair.

Her fingers, that were running through his hair, stop.

"What?"

"You….me….a baby."

She tries to shove him off.

"Jax….we need to talk about this."


	9. Chapter 9

Brenda Returns – Chapter 9

Jax sits up. "What's there to discuss? I thought we both wanted to have children together," Jax says, a little out of breath.

"We did…we do," Carly says. "But this seems very sudden. Just makes me wonder what's going on?"

Jax throws his arm across the back of the couch and studies his fingers before looking back at Carly.

"I just saw this adorable little girl at the hospital today…and, I don't know, it just made me want to have a little girl with my wife," he shrugs.

She gives a small pout before speaking. "Well, that's very sweet, but I thought we were going to wait another year before we started to try."

Jax slowly nods. "Yes, you're right, we did decide that."

"But?"

"You had to see this little girl…she was probably one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen," he says, his face lighting up.

Carly studies her husband's expression closely and is confused.

"You sure this doesn't have anything to do with Brenda being back in town?" she asks cautiously.

Jax's expression quickly changes. His expression becomes harder.

"Of course not. Why would it?"

Carly shrugs, not sure if she should have brought that up. "I don't know. It's Brenda. THE Brenda."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asks, getting a little annoyed.

Carly stands up and walks over to the fireplace. She studies the empty grate.

"I know what she meant to you. It's got to be unnerving a little to have her here."

Jax stands up and walks to stand behind Carly.

"Meant. Past tense. Her being here now has nothing to do with us."

She looks up and stares at a photo of her sons on the mantel.

"Okay," she whispers before turning around to him. "I believe you." She reaches out for his embrace.

~*~

"She's asleep," Brenda says to Maria as she descends the stairs of their rented house.

"Mr. Morgan called to check on things," Maria says.

"Oh, I'll have to call him back, thanks." She sits down on the couch and picks up a magazine. "Maybe I will have Jason and Elizabeth over for dinner as a thank you…"

"That would be nice," Maria agrees.

Brenda smiles and then sits back.

"Brenda…I've known you for many years now," Maria starts.

Brenda looks up from her magazine. "Yes you have."

"I've never pressured you to tell me about Hope's father."

Brenda closes her eyes for a second. She knows what's coming.

"You could tell, couldn't you?" Brenda whispers.

Maria nods. "That man, that helped Hope with her doll's shoe today…"

Brenda sets the magazine down and folds her hands across her lap. "Jasper Jax."

"Did you love him?" Maria asks, trying to get to know her friend a little more.

"Yes, very much." Brenda tries to fight the tears that are forming.

"Then why doesn't he know he has a daughter? He seemed like a very nice man who loves children. You should have seen the way he was with her," Maria pleads.

Brenda bites her lip to try to compose herself before speaking. "It's complicated…" she starts.

Maria looks at her, waiting for more.

"He left me….at the altar."

"Did he know you were pregnant?"

Brenda shakes her head. "No, I didn't even know I was pregnant, yet. I didn't find out until I got to Italy."

"Then why?"

Brenda shook her head. "It's just the way I wanted it. That's all anyone needs to know," she says, standing up and heading to the kitchen.

Maria bites her lower lip. She has known Brenda for awhile now and knows to let her calm down on her own when she gets like this. Her heart goes out to this Jasper Jax, though. A man, who seems nice enough, who doesn't even know he has a daughter.

~*~

"I'm sorry about last night," Brenda says to Maria the next morning. "You were already in bed by the time I came to apologize."

"That's okay. You know I don't want to pry. I try to think about what would be best for Hope," she says, looking down at the little girl who is eating pancakes.

Hope looks up and smiles at Maria.

"I know. That's why I've made the decisions I've always made. Hey Hope," Brenda says, touching her daughter's hair and changing the subject.

Hope looks over at her mom.

"I've invited Jason and his family over for dinner tonight. Guess what?"

"What?" she asks.

"He's got 2 little boys. One of them is close to your age. You can show him your toys, won't that be fun?"

Hope smiles and nods.

"Would you like me to prepare a menu?" Maria asks.

Brenda gives her a thankful look. "Would you? That would be wonderful."

"Of course. I hope they like Italian," she smiles and walks over to the kitchen counter.

~*~

"Thank you for doing this," Jason says to Elizabeth as they reach Brenda's house.

Elizabeth shrugs. "It's not like you're asking me to pull all of my fingernails out, Jason. I think the boys will have fun playing with Hope and I don't really know Brenda that well. It will be nice to get to know her."

"I love you," he says, leaning over to give her a kiss.

"I love you, too."

They get the boys out of the SUV and head to the front door. Before they can even knock, Brenda opens the door.

"Hey guys," she exclaims.

"Hi," Jason chuckles.

"Hi Brenda," Elizabeth says.

"Come on in."

"Thanks," Jason says as the four of them walk past her on the way into the house.

"Hope is in the kitchen, helping Maria with the final touches on dinner. She loves to help cook…or at least think that she's helping," Brenda chuckles nervously.

"Here, we brought this for dinner," Elizabeth says, holding out a bottle of Red Wine.

"Oh, thank you. You didn't have to bring anything, she says, taking the bottle. She looks over and notices Cameron, leaning on Elizabeth's leg. "Hey Cameron, why don't you look and see what kind of fun toys we have, they're over in this part of the room," Brenda says, motioning over to the far side of the room.

Jason sets Jake down and he follows his big brother to the toys.

"I'll put this on the table and get Hope."

"I'd love to meet her," Elizabeth smiles.

A couple of minutes later, Brenda comes out of the kitchen with Hope walking beside her.

"Hope has been itching to meet Cameron and Jake all day, haven't you?" Brenda asks the little girl.

Hope nods.

Elizabeth kneels down so she's eye level with Hope. "They've been waiting to meet you, too. You sure are a cutie," she says, touching the bow on the little girl's dress.

"Thank you," Hope says quietly.

"This is Elizabeth."

"Hi Hope, it's nice to meet you."

"Elizabeth works at the hospital that's going to make you better. Maybe we'll see her there," Brenda says.

"Maybe you will," Elizabeth smiles at her.

Hope looks up at Jason and slightly blushes. She grabs her mom's hand again and starts to chew on one of her fingers.

Elizabeth is amused by this reaction to her husband.

"I know, sweetie, he has that affect on me, too," she says, as she stands up and she tousles the little girl's hair.

Brenda chuckles and Jason smiles and looks down.

"Hi Hope," he says.

"Hi," she says softly.

"Why don't you go over and play with the boys," Brenda says.

They all watch as she joins Cameron and Jake and instantly starts to play with them.

"It's amazing how easily children get along," Brenda says. "Would you like to sit down?"

They all take a seat. Elizabeth and Jason sit next to each other on the couch and Brenda sits in the chair opposite them.

"Jason told me about Hope's condition and that Robin is helping. I asked her a few questions today, I hope that's okay," Elizabeth starts.

Brenda nods. "It's fine."

"You know…if the father was tested…" she starts.

"Elizabeth," Jason gently warns.

"No, it's okay. I've weighed all of the options. I know that there's a chance that he could match but the odds of that are so slim that I'd rather not dig up that whole mess. I think it would be worse for Hope."

"I'm sorry, I just thought…"

Brenda holds up her hands. "It's okay, really. I'm going to check on Maria and see if she needs anything. Excuse me," she says as she stands up.

Elizabeth and Jason watch as she leaves the room.

"I shouldn't have said anything, but I think you're right," Elizabeth whispers to Jason. "I think Jax is the father and I know he'd move heaven and earth to help his child."

"It's got to be Brenda's decision," Jason whispers back and moves a strand of hair away from Elizabeth's cheek.

She nods and looks down at her hands. "She's a beautiful little girl. Her mother's coloring and her father's eyes…"

"Yeah," Jason agrees.

"Dinner's almost ready," Brenda says when she rejoins them.

"Good, I'm starving," Jason says, trying to breakup some of the tension.


	10. Chapter 10

Brenda Returns – Chapter 10

"I can only imagine what you think of me," Brenda says.

She and Elizabeth are sitting outside on the porch. Jason is inside with the kids, watching a movie.

"I'm a mother, too, Brenda. I would do anything for my kids."

Brenda nods.

"But you'd tell the father and have him tested." Brenda looks down at her clasped fingers.

"If it meant making sure my child gets better, then yes."

"She's lived her whole life without a father figure. I just think that it might upset her right now, or confuse her," Brenda says, shifting so she's facing Elizabeth. "She can't take any stress."

"Or maybe she'd be thrilled," Elizabeth shrugs. "And if he matched, then that's the quickest way for her to get healthy, right?"

"Maybe."

"You don't have to tell me…but after seeing her this evening and knowing Jason's opinion…I'm going to take a good guess that her father is Jax."

Brenda looks up at her and doesn't say anything.

"Did you know that I carried a baby for he and his wife?"

Brenda's eyes get bigger. "Carly?"

Elizabeth bites her lower lip and tries not to laugh out loud. "No, not Carly. Courtney…Sonny's sister."

"Right, I remember her. She was with Jason before I left…"

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Right. Anyway, Courtney couldn't have children so I agreed to be a surrogate. I was married to Lucky at the time and we desperately needed the money…"

"And Lucky was okay with this?" Brenda asks.

"Ehhh, well, yes and no. Well, not really but I did it anyway. But the point is, I got to see how much Jax cared about becoming a father."

"He can just get so controlling, sometimes. Hope has been in a very open, casual environment." Brenda stands up and looks out over the yard. "I don't want to put any pressure on her…I could just see him dictating which pre-school she'd go to because it had the best….whatever."

Elizabeth has a confused look on her face. "So, that's the only reason why you're keeping him from his daughter?"

Brenda's shoulders slouch and she shakes her head. "No. It's just another excuse I've made for myself."

She turns back around to face Elizabeth and leans against the banister.

"I honestly don't even know how it started. The only thing I can remember when I found out for sure that I was pregnant was how much I wanted to hurt him because he hurt me," she says softly.

Elizabeth bows her head and slightly nods.

"I'm just so scared how he's going to react at this point. I mean, I've kept it from him for 5 years."

Elizabeth nods. "I know what you're going through, in a way. I kept the fact that Jason was Jake's father from him for a few months. I mean, it's not years but I understand your fear. But trust me, once he gets over that initial shock and he calms down, I think things will work out."

"What if he wants to try to get custody of her?" she asks, her voice shaking.

"Jason will get you a good lawyer," Elizabeth says, standing up and taking a step closer to Brenda.

"I can't keep relying on your husband," Brenda smiles, shaking her head.

"I'm used to sharing him," Elizabeth says, smiling softly. She reaches over for Brenda's hand. "If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."

"Thank you," Brenda whispers.

"We better go inside. It's too quiet in there," Elizabeth laughs.

Jason looks up as the women come into the house.

"Hey," he whispers since he has 3 sleeping children lying across his lap.

"Oh my God, this is so precious," Brenda whispers, touching her neck. "I wish the heads of the Five Families could see this," she teases.

Elizabeth nudges Brenda as Jason rolls his eyes.

Brenda picks up Hope, who nestles against her shoulder. Elizabeth picks up Jake who doesn't stir at all and Jason stands up, lifting up Cameron as he does.

"Thanks for dinner. Thank Maria, too. It was wonderful," Elizabeth says softly.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you guys came out. I think the kids had fun," Brenda nods.

"I do, too," Jason agrees.

They show themselves out as Brenda takes Hope upstairs.

~*~

A few days later, the board is presented with Hope's case.

"Any reason why the family wants to remain anonymous?" Nikolas Cassadine asks as he reviews the case.

Robin stands in the front of the room. "I didn't ask. They requested it and I didn't need to know why."

"Maybe it's a mob baby," Edward Quartermaine mumbles.

"Edward," Dr. Monica Quartermaine says and shakes her head. "It doesn't matter who it is. Dr. Scorpio, do you feel the patient is old enough to try something this strong? This says that the child isn't even five."

"I'm actually going to cut down on the dosage. I've consulted with the pharmaceutical company and they've recommended the dosage that would be safe for the child's size, gender and age."

"Jax, you haven't said anything," Nikolas says, glancing over at Jax.

"What happens if the child doesn't get this treatment or it doesn't work?" he asks.

"We'll need to find a bone marrow donor. Most likely from a close relative."

"Why hasn't the family tried that already?" he asks.

"Well, I believe the child's mother has been tested and she wasn't a match. An operation is the last resort."

"Is it too dangerous?"

"Any operation can be dangerous, Jax. This child has been through a lot of treatments and a lot of tests and if I can cure him…or her with medicine, then that's what I'm going to try to do first."

Jax slowly nods and puts the file down. "I trust your judgment, Dr. Scorpio."

"Me too," Nikolas says.

"Then let's vote," Edward chimes in.

~*~

Robin quickly walks over to the nurses station where Elizabeth is signing off on charts.

"Can you do me a huge favor?" she asks Elizabeth.

"Sure, what's up?" Elizabeth asks, setting a chart down.

"Can you go pick up Hope for me?" she says softly, looking around while she asks.

Elizabeth gets a confused look on her face. "Okay, but…."

"Robin," Jax says as he approaches the nurses station. "Hi Elizabeth."

Elizabeth straightens up. "Hi, Jax."

"Robin, I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep the board up to speed on the patient's response to the drug treatment. Would that be possible?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

Jax smiles and nods. "Great. Bye."

Both Robin and Elizabeth say bye to Jax and wait to continue to talk until he's on the elevator.

"So, the board approved the drug treatment?" Elizabeth asks.

Robin nods. "But I promised Brenda I'd try to help her keep her….."

"Her secret," Elizabeth volunteers.

"Right. The board doesn't even know if the patient is a little boy or girl, they just know it's a four year old child."

"Does Brenda know?"

Robin shakes her head. "Not yet. I'm getting ready to call her now."

"Okay, I'm on my way," Elizabeth says as she heads around the nurses station to the locker room.

~*~

"I love that song you sang to me in the car," Elizabeth tells Hope as they get off the elevator at the hospital.

They start to walk down the hallway together when Elizabeth almost walks into Carly, who is looking down at her purse and has tears in her eyes.

"Oh sorry," Carly says before looking up and seeing that it's Elizabeth. She then rolls her eyes. "Or maybe not."

"That's okay, Carly," Elizabeth says in a cheery voice, trying to keep up appearances for Hope's sake.

"You're a pretty little girl," Carly tells Hope.

"Thank you," Hope says. She shifts her doll in her arms.

"Carly, are you okay?" Elizabeth asks, genuinely concerned because Carly's tears fall faster after the little girl looks up at her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Nothing to concern yourself over. You have a child with the man you love."

Without another word, Carly leaves them. Elizabeth takes a deep breath and squeezes Hope's hand.

"Come on, let's go see Dr. Robin."


	11. Chapter 11

Brenda Returns – Chapter 11

A few weeks go by and Robin continues the new drug treatment on Hope.

"It just doesn't seem to be curing the illness, just slowing things down," Robin tells Brenda.

Brenda chews on her lower lip. "So, what does that mean? We try longer? Maybe a larger dosage?"

Robin takes a deep breath. "We've given it six weeks, Brenda."

"I have to let this sink in…" Brenda says as she turns her body away from Robin.

"I'm sorry. I really had high hopes that this treatment would work."

"I know," Brenda says, wiping away a tear.

~*~

Elizabeth sits across the table from Hope in the Pediatric waiting room at the hospital.

"What are you drawing?" she asks the little girl.

"A picture of my doll for my mommy," Hope says.

Elizabeth smiles at her and looks up to see Jax standing in the doorway.

"Hi," she says, in a surprised tone.

"Hi," he says, walking into the room. "May I?" he asks, motioning to an empty chair between the two ladies.

"Fine by me," Elizabeth says. "Is that okay with you, Hope?"

Hope looks up and smiles at Jax. "You helped my dolly."

"I sure did. How are her shoes? She still have them?"

Hope giggles. "Yes."

"Oh good," he teases.

"That's a pretty picture. How old are you, Hope?" Jax asks. He glances over at Elizabeth.

"I'm four."

He nods. "Four years old? Wow. Such a big girl."

Elizabeth watches Jax with a wary eye. She's trying to figure out what he's doing.

"Have you met Elizabeth's sons, yet? Cameron and Jake?"

Now Elizabeth's eyebrows furrow.

"Uh huh. They're nice. I like to play with them. Cameron and I like to color but Jake is too small, he doesn't color in the lines."

Jax smiles and stares blankly across the room.

"What's your name?" Hope asks, snapping Jax's attention back to her.

"It's Jax."

Hope keeps coloring. "How do you spell that?"

"Oh…it's J – A – X. Do you know all those letters?"

Hope nods and draws the letters on a blank page. "See?"

"That's very good," Elizabeth says.

"Yes, very good. I'm impressed," Jax agrees.

Brenda walks to the window and looks into the room. She usually does this after her meetings with Robin. She likes to watch how Hope interacts with other people, usually Elizabeth, before going down to her car while she waits for someone to bring Hope to her.

Today, her heart leaps up into her throat when she sees Jax sitting with them.

Jax holds up the piece of paper with his name on it and smiles. "Now, why don't you write your name on it so I know you made this for me?"

She nods and then starts to write her name below his.

Elizabeth sees Brenda out of the corner of her eye and looks her way. Brenda doesn't even notice that Elizabeth is staring at her. She only sees her daughter and Jax.

"Do you have any kids?" Hope asks Jax as she finishes drawing her "e".

"I have two step-sons. They're a little older than you. But, I'd like to have a little girl, one day."

Hope smiles up at him and hands him back the piece of paper.

When Brenda sees the two of them together, looking at each other, smiling at each other, she almost looses it. Instead, she pushes herself away from the window and leans against the wall. This is how Robin finds her.

"Brenda?" she asks.

Brenda shakes her head and puts her finger to her lips.

"I'll be down at my car."

With that, she leaves. Robin, who is still confused, stops in the doorway when she sees the three of them sitting at the table.

Elizabeth is the first to notice Robin.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi there."

"Hi Dr. Robin," Hope says.

"Hi Robin," Jax says, standing up as she walks over to them.

"Hi, Jax. What a surprise."

"I like to come down to the pediatric ward every once in awhile," he says. "How are you doing?"

She nods. "I'm good."

"Is it time for Hope to leave?" Elizabeth asks as she stands up, as well. She usually loves spending time with Hope but today, this whole scenario was making her nervous.

"Yes…it is. Hope, I see you made a new friend," Robin says, leaning down so she's closer to eye level.

"His name is Jax. Look, I drew him his name," she says, pointing to the paper Jax is still holding.

"I see that. You did a very good job."

"Come on Hope," Elizabeth says, holding out her hand.

Hope stands up and grabs onto her hand. She looks back up at Jax. "Bye."

"Bye, sweetie. I hope to see you soon," he says, squatting down to her eye level.

"Do you know my mommy? Her name is Br…."

Before she could finish, Robin butt in. "Oh I doubt it, honey."

"But, she knows a lot of people here."

Elizabeth raises her eyebrows. "Come on, I know your ride is waiting. Bye Jax."

"Bye Elizabeth, thank you for letting me sit with you two beautiful ladies."

Elizabeth smiles at him and Hope waves.

"Uh, Robin, can I speak to you for a minute?" Jax asks, stopping Robin from leaving the waiting area with them.

Elizabeth and Hope stop in the doorway and Robin waves them on.

"It's okay. Hope, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Bye Dr. Robin."

They leave and Robin turns her attention back to Jax.

"Call me crazy but….is this the little girl you're trying the experimental drug on?" he asks.

Robin folds her arms across her chest and looks around the room. "Jax, you know that's doctor/patient confidentiality, I can't answer that."

"Well, if it is…she seems to be well. I hope it's working."

Robin suddenly feels like maybe this is her window of opportunity.

"Actually….without answering that question directly…" she starts. She thinks of how she can word this without getting into trouble. "What if I asked you to see if you were a match as a donor?"

"What kind of donor?" he asks, resting his hands on his hips.

"Bone marrow," she says, biting her lip.

"For Hope…..or you can't tell me…" he says, realizing she's not going to say.

"Yeah, I can't tell you. I just need to start looking for donors."

He raises an eyebrow and slowly nods. "Okay, where do I get tested?"

"Seriously?"

He gives her a mock hurt look. "Am I usually that heartless that I wouldn't do something like this for a child?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "No, but it's not that simple of a procedure if you do match."

"If it means saving a child's life," he says, looking at the doorway, "then count me in."

Robin breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Jax."

~*~

"I'm glad you agreed to have dinner with me tonight," Robin tells Brenda.

After Robin's conversation with Jax, she couldn't wait to tell Brenda and decided to get her out of the house and meet for dinner at the Metro Court.

"Me too. I know I need to quit hovering over Hope sometimes. It's good for both of us."

Robin nods as she pushes a piece of lettuce around on her plate.

"And I know I have a big decision to make," Brenda continues. "It's just so hard to think that she's not getting better because I can see more energy and life in her."

Robin agrees. "I know she's feeling better, but that's because the medicine is covering up the symptoms, not making them better."

"I know," Brenda says softly.

Brenda glances over toward the bar and sees Jax. She can't help but stare at him.

"He is so good with her," she whispers.

Robin glances over her shoulder and turns back to Brenda. "Yes, he is. Hope seems to respond really well to him."

Brenda nods and tears her eyes away from him. "It's almost like deep down, they know." Tears start to form in her eyes.

"Brenda….tell him," Robin says, reaching across the table to touch Brenda's hand.

"I want to…"

"Then, just do it. I mean, not here or anything, but tell him. He's already got a connection with her."

Brenda shakes her head. "I've kept this secret for so long, it would destroy lives if I said anything now."

Robin pulls away, knowing that if she keeps this up, it will only push Brenda away.

"I do have some interesting news."

Brenda wipes a tear from her cheek. "What's that?"

"I took the opportunity today to ask Jax if he would take the test to see if he was a bone marrow match."

Brenda's eyes get big. "For Hope?"

"Well, he doesn't know for whom. I'm sure he assumes it's for Hope and he assumes that Hope is the little girl we're trying the experimental drug on, but I wouldn't confirm anything."

"But he'll be tested without question?"

"So far…yes," Robin smiles.

Brenda smiles and then watches Carly as she approaches Jax. They talk and then hug. They do look happy together.

"I'm sorry for making you do this," Brenda says.

"Doing what?"

"All the secrets and lies you have to keep for me."

"Brenda, as a doctor, I'm supposed to keep certain secrets."

Brenda glances back at her friend and feels a little better. "If that's supposed to make me feel a little better, it has."

"Good," Robin smiles.


	12. Chapter 12

Brenda Returns – Chapter 12

"Oh, there's Robin and Brenda," Jax says when he notices the ladies having dinner.

"I thought Brenda should have left Port Charles by now," Carly says.

"Why? Does it bother you, having her here?" he asks, taking her hand.

"No, I'm just curious as to why she's hanging around when this was just supposed to be a quick trip."

Jax shrugs. "I'll go find out."

"Jax, no." Carly tries to grab him but he's too quick.

"Hello ladies. It's a lovely evening and especially more so since the two of you are dining with us," Jax says, smiling his charming smile.

"Hi Jax," Robin says.

Jax nods at Robin and then turns his attention to Brenda.

"Brenda. It's good to still see you in Port Charles."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure Robin is glad to have her friend around this long?"

"Yes, I am," Robin smiles at Brenda.

"So, Robin, I took the test this afternoon to see if I'm a donor match. Do you know how soon we'll find out?" he asks.

"Sometimes it can take up to a week. The hospital will let you know."

"A match for what?" Carly asks from behind Jax.

Jax stands up straighter and turns to his wife.

"I got tested today to see if I'm a match to be a bone marrow donor for a little gir….a small child who is sick," he corrects himself.

"Bone marrow?" Carly asks. "Why didn't you mention this to me?"

"Because, darling, I hadn't seen you until just a few minutes ago it's not something I care to discuss with my wife, here, at the hotel," he says with a subtle smile on his face.

"Oh, I see. So, you're interested in saving someone else's child, but not about why you can't have one with your wife? Excuse me," she says to Robin and Brenda, who are left speechless.

Jax stares at Carly's retreating back for a few moments before he turns back to Robin and Brenda.

"Jax…" Brenda starts, but he cuts her off.

"I'm sorry about that. If you two ladies will excuse me. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

He nods at them and then follows Carly.

Robin blinks and stares at Brenda. "Wow."

"Yeah. I so didn't need to be around for that."

"Yeah, it was weird," Robin agrees.

"But see, it's another reason why I feel like I should still try to keep my secret. It will destroy Carly and Jax if they find out…."

"Brenda, if Carly and Jax can't withstand something like this, then they probably aren't meant to be married. It all boils down to trust and Carly has issues with that. No matter whom she is with."

~*~

"Thank you again for watching Hope tonight," Brenda says to Elizabeth.

"Not a problem. She loves playing with the boys, so I hardly even notice she's here. I think Cameron has a crush on her, it's so cute," Elizabeth says as she picks up a few of Hope's things and places them in a bag.

"Awww," Brenda smiles. "Jason's not here?" she asks, looking around.

"Business," Elizabeth simply states. "I'm used to it by now."

Brenda screws up her face. "Hey, can I pry into your personal life again?"

Elizabeth slowly sits down on the couch. "Maybe," she says, patting the seat next to her.

Brenda sits down. "When you found out you were pregnant with Jake, what went through your mind?"

Elizabeth pushes a strand of hair away from her face. "Well, my immediate reaction was that I needed to get a paternity test done. I had been with both Lucky and Jason around the same time. My next reaction was that I wanted to protect Lucky." Elizabeth takes a deep breath. "He got hooked on pain pills and seemed to be finally getting things back in order. I knew if he found out I was pregnant, but that the baby might not be his, it could make him start taking pills again. So, originally, that's why I didn't want to tell anyone."

"When did you change your mind?"

"Lucky got back on pills, anyway, and he pushed me down. Jason happened to be there, too and I told both of them I was pregnant. At the time, they both assumed the baby was Lucky's…"

"Even Jason?"

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah, at first he did. Jason and I used protection, so I don't think it occurred to him."

"I'm sorry, if I'm being too nosy, you don't have to tell me this if you don't feel comfortable…" Brenda starts.

"No, it's okay. If me telling you this, helps you make a decision about telling Jax…"

Brenda smiles and looks down at her hands. "I do want to tell him, but I'm scared." She looks up at Elizabeth with watery eyes.

Elizabeth reaches for Brenda's hands. "I understand."

"Sorry, please continue…"

"So, a few days go by and I was at Jason's Penthouse and he asked me if there was a chance he could be the father. I told him yes."

"How did he react to that?"

"Well, he was shocked," Elizabeth chuckles. "I mean, we used protection, so he didn't think….but anyway, turns out the condoms were defective, long story," she says when Brenda gives her a questionable look, "so Jason agreed to have a paternity test done. Lucky was in rehab at this point and I definitely didn't want to bring this up to him."

"I can see why…"

"I mean, he didn't even know I had been with Jason. But, my marriage was over the moment I found out he was cheating on me, so what Jason and I did that night, wasn't cheating, in my eyes."

"You don't have to explain…"

"No, I know. I just know what I'd think if I heard part of this story without explaining," Elizabeth smiles. "Anyway, Jason was out of town when I got the results. Sonny happened to be standing by me when I read them and he assumed that Lucky was the father. He started saying how it was better for Jason this way and I didn't correct him."

"Sounds like Sonny."

"Yeah, well, Carly also assumed that Lucky was the father and she decided to take it upon herself to tell Jason…"

"You mean before you did?"

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah. Carly couldn't wait to tell him that I wasn't going to have his child after all."

"Sounds like there's a lot of history there…"

"Oh yeah. But anyway, by the time I got to Jason, he thought he knew that Lucky was the father and he kind of reiterated what Sonny had said. That it was probably better for everyone, including the child. My heart dropped," Elizabeth says, almost sadly. "I think, deep down, I wanted him to say that he wanted to be the father and that everything would be okay…"

"So, you told him that Lucky was the father?"

Elizabeth nods. "I didn't tell him that, I let him assume. I mean, when someone tells you it's for the best, what are you supposed to say at that moment? I didn't have time to think so I didn't say anything."

"Were you able to share it with anyone?"

"At the time, no, I didn't tell anyone."

"I know what that feels like, too. No one knew that Jax is Hope's father until I came back here."

"It feels good to be able to talk about it, though, doesn't it?"

Brenda nods. "Yeah, it does. So, what was your biggest fear about telling Jason?"

Elizabeth throws her head back a little and thinks. "I don't know. Part of it was that I knew he hated to lie and that he'd want to not keep it a secret. Which scared me for Lucky's sake. I just didn't want to feel responsible for Lucky going back on pills. I knew it would hurt so many people in our lives. Then there was the whole danger thing. Again, I knew Jason would do whatever it took to keep us safe but still…"

"There's always the risk."

Elizabeth nods. "Right. Even now. Now that we're settled into this life together. I have guards on my house, gates, bullet proof glass…"

"And happy, healthy children..." Brenda adds.

Elizabeth stops and realizes Brenda's point. "Yes," she smiles. "Yes, that's true. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I'm happy for you and Jason."

"But to answer your question," Elizabeth giggles, "I was scared that Jason would hate me for not telling him. I was worried about his reaction."

Brenda nods.

"But, he surprised me. Well, actually, no he didn't. He was actually his typical Jason, self."

"What, not talking, moody…." Brenda jokes.

Elizabeth throws her head back and laughs. "Not _that_ Jason. The Jason that I know. He was very understanding. I mean, he was hurt at first, especially when I told him I did it for his own good. He didn't like that. But we talked and came to an understanding…" Elizabeth smiles softly.

Brenda sighs. "I wish it was that easy for me."

Elizabeth takes Brenda's hand again. "Here's my two cents. I really feel that Jax has the right to know. Yes, he'll be hurt and he'll be angry, but eventually, I feel that it will all work out for the best. Hope will get to know her father…"

"I know," Brenda says, the tears starting to fall. "I know you're right, but what if he tries to take her away from me? What if his reaction confuses Hope? I don't want her hurt in any of this…"

"But the longer you wait, the harder it will be on Hope. Right now, she's still young enough that she'll adjust quickly to this stranger becoming her father."

Brenda squeezes Elizabeth's hand. "Thank you….for everything."

Jason comes in the front door and immediately puts his gun in a locked, hidden panel inside the front closet. When he turns around he sees Brenda and Elizabeth sitting on the couch. Brenda is wiping away tears.

"Uh, I can come back," he says, pointing toward the door.

"No, it's okay. I need to take Hope home," Brenda says.

"I'll go get her," Elizabeth says, leaving the room.

"You're a lucky guy, Jason," Brenda says, walking around the couch to stand in front of Jason.

"Why do you say that?" he asks with a soft smile on his face.

"Because of your family. You don't have any lies or secrets anymore and you're able to be with them. Elizabeth is great, she's helped me and Hope a lot."

"Yeah, she is great," he nods. "I am a very fortunate man."

"They were watching a movie in Cam's room and fell asleep," Elizabeth chuckles. She's carrying Hope, who is draped over her, as she walks down the stairs.

"Why are you doing that? Let me get her," Jason says, meeting Elizabeth part-way down the steps.

"Jason, I'm fine," she says, even though Jason takes Hope from her.

"I don't want you to fall…"

"I am not that clumsy," Elizabeth says, pretending to give Jason a dirty look.

"I just don't want to take any chances…" he says.

"Am I missing something?" Brenda asks as she reaches out to take Hope from him but he shakes his head.

"I can carry her out to the car. You have all her stuff?"

She looks around the room and takes a bag from Elizabeth.

"It should all be in there. If I find anything that is hers, I'll let you know," Elizabeth says.

Brenda notices Elizabeth is a little flush.

"Okay, what's going on?" she asks.

Elizabeth and Jason exchange glances and Jason nods.

"We're just not telling too many people right now…."

Brenda's heart leaps into her throat. "Telling people what? Are you okay, Elizabeth? Oh my God, I just sit here and dump all my problems…"

Elizabeth reaches out and grabs Brenda's hands to stop her from talking. "I'm fine. I'm just pregnant."

Brenda suddenly feels joyful. She hasn't felt that was in a long time. "Pregnant?"

Both Elizabeth and Jason smile and nod. "Yeah. I'm just about 12 weeks along…"

"Oh my…congratulations," Brenda says, pulling Elizabeth into a hug. "And you guys are going to get to do this the right way this time…together with no secrets."

"Yeah. I promise things will work out for you, Brenda. You have a beautiful daughter, that's what it's all about."


	13. Chapter 13

Brenda Returns – Chapter 13

"Thank you for coming in to see me," Robin tells Jax when he walks into her office.

"I figured it was news about being a match?" he asks as he sits down across from her.

"Yes, it is," she nods and folds her arms on top of the desk.

"Well?" he asks, suddenly nervous.

"You're a match," she smiles.

"I am?" he asks with a silly grin on his face. He's not sure why, but being able to help that beautiful little girl is better news than if he took over a multi-million dollar company at a bargain price.

"Yes. Now, I haven't told anyone else, yet, not even the patient's mom…or dad, because I want you to look over these papers. It describes and outlines the procedure and the risks," she says handing him over the paperwork. "Once you've read through it, and you agree to it, you can sign them and bring them back to me."

He takes the papers from her and glances over the first page. "Okay. Then what?"

"Then we'll schedule the procedure and have the patient prepped for the transplant, so to speak."

"How quickly can this all happen?"

"I'd like for it to happen by the end of next week. The sooner the better."

He nods. "And will this totally cure her?"

"The odds are good that it will. The patient will still need to see a doctor for a couple of years after the procedure, just to make sure, but most likely, he or she won't have to go under anymore procedures or treatments after this. Maybe a small dose of medicine to maintain platelet levels."

"And I still don't get to know that it's that little girl, for sure, do I?" he asks, leaning back in his chair.

"No, I'm sorry. The patient's parents would like this to be anonymous."

"Okay, but if they change their mind…"

"I'll be sure to mention to them that you are interested in who it is you're donating for."

He smiles and looks over the papers.

"Jax?"

He looks up.

"This is a very generous gesture. Well, it's more than a gesture. I have gotten to know this family very well and I want to personally thank you," Robin says, trying not to get choked up.

He gets a serious look on his face and nods. "I'm doing it for this little girl as much as I'm doing it for myself."

"How so?" she asks, sitting back in her chair a little bit.

"You were there when Carly mentioned that she is having trouble getting pregnant.." he starts.

She nods.

"Well, it doesn't look good. The chances of conceiving at so small and then if she did get pregnant, she would probably have to be on bed rest the whole time and even then the odds of carrying to term are minimal."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I've come to accept it, but Carly hasn't. She feels that she's loosing a part of me. But if I can help someone else's child….I don't know, it just makes me feel like I'm helping in some way. If I can't create a life, I can help save one."

Robin holds back her tears and tries to remain professional.

"That's a good way of looking at it."

~*~

"You sounded urgent on the phone," Brenda says when she joins Robin for lunch at Kelly's.

"Jax is a match," she says with a huge smile on her face.

"What? Oh my God. And he's really willing to go through with this?" Brenda asks, leaning over the table.

Robin nods. "Yes, he officially signed the paperwork. I didn't want to tell you until he had gone through all the motions because he could have pulled out…"

"Oh, right." Brenda sits back in her chair and processes this information. "Wow."

"Wow, what?" Robin asks, motioning the waitress for two glasses of water.

"He's really doing this for a child he doesn't even know?" she asks, staring at the table.

"Yes. Because he's a kind, generous person who loves children, _Brenda_," Robin says, stressing the last part. "You HAVE to tell him the truth before you leave for Italy."

A tear escapes from Brenda's eye and falls down her cheek. She brushes it away and doesn't say anything for a few minutes. When she does, she starts asking about the operation.

~*~

"Hi Hope," Jax says when he sees her in the waiting room again.

He makes a point to check the waiting room every time he's at GH in hopes of catching Hope there.

"Hi Mr. Jax," she says, looking up from her puzzle.

He looks around at the other families in the waiting room.

"Is your mommy or daddy here?" he asks, sitting down on the couch next to the table she's working at.

She shakes her head. "No. My mommy is running an dare-end."

He raises his eyebrows up at that one. "Oh." He looks around again. "Are you here alone?"

"No, Dr. Robin is at the desk. She's keeping an eye on me," she says, pointing toward the door.

"Oh okay.

Your mommy is running an errand, huh?" he asks, making sure he understood what she was trying to say.

Hope nods and picks up a different colored crayon and continues to color.

"You like my picture?" she asks.

Jax leans over. "Yes, very much. You're doing a good job staying in the lines."

"Aunt Elizabeth is an artist," she says, inspecting what she just colored.

"Aunt Elizabeth, huh?" he chuckles.

"Yeah. I asked her if I could call her that. She's Cameron's mommy."

"Yes she is. She's a very sweet lady."

Hope nods.

"Where are you from? Do you live here in Port Charles?"

She shakes her head no.

"New York?" he asks.

"Is that near Italy?" she asks, looking up at him from her coloring book.

"You live in Italy?" he asks, his mind is trying to process this new information.

"Uh huh. With my mommy. And Ms. Maria helps us a lot."

"What's your mommy's name?" he asks, inquisitively.

"Oh, hey Jax. Visiting the Pediatrics wing again, I see," Robin says when she comes in to check on Hope.

Jax looks up at Robin. "Uh, yeah."

He looks back down and studies Hope's features.

"Everything okay?" Robin asks.

Jax studies Hope for a few seconds more and then looks at Robin. "Yeah. Can we talk?"

"Well, I'm doing rounds right now and I'm keeping an eye on Hope, but later today."

Jax pulls Robin into the hallway, out of Hope's earshot.

"I know I haven't seen Hope that many times, but I have yet to see her with her mother or father. Do you have any idea why?" he asks.

Robin scrunches her eyes together. "Um, no. I mean, her mother has dropped her off a couple of times and sometimes she gets her car in the garage and either Elizabeth or I will walk her to her car. It's not a big deal, Jax," Robin says, trying to appease Jax's curiosity.

He thinks about asking her more questions but stops when he sees Elizabeth walking over to them.

"Dr. Scorpio, I need you to sign off on a couple of charts….excuse me, Jax," she says apologetically to Jax.

He smiles and nods. "It's okay. I should get going anyway. Bye," he says to both of them. He pokes his head in the waiting room and waves to Hope. "Bye Hope. It was good seeing you again."

"Bye Mr. Jax….good seeing you," she waves back.

Robin and Elizabeth both smile sheepishly at him before he walks away.

"Oh my God, thank you for the distraction," Robin says when they know Jax is out of ear shot.

"No problem. Things were looking a little intense."

"I think he's starting to suspect something. He was asking Hope all these questions about where she was from and who her mommy was…."

"You're kidding?"

Robin shakes her head. "No. I'm so tired of all of this lying and hiding, but it's not my place to tell him."

Elizabeth agrees. "No, it has to be Brenda that tells him."

Robin's phone rings. "It's Brenda, would you mind keeping an eye on Hope for a minute?"

"Not at all," Elizabeth says before going into the waiting room.

"You owe me and Elizabeth big time," Robin answers the phone.

Brenda pulls her phone away from her ear and looks at it questioningly before replying.

"Okay….why?"

"Jax was just grilling me on where Hope is from and who her mommy is when Elizabeth came in and caused a diversion to make him go away," she whispers loudly into the phone.

Brenda rubs her temple. "I'm so sorry…"

"Brenda, I'm tired of you being sorry. You have got to tell him before the surgery. There's no way you're going to be able to avoid him next week."

Brenda shuts her eyes for a moment. "Is Hope ready?"

"Yeah, come up and get her," Robin says before shutting her phone off.

Elizabeth glances up when she hears Robin's phone snap shut.

"You want me to take Hope down to the garage?" Elizabeth asks.

Robin stands in the doorway, looking at Hope, who is still coloring. "No. Wait for Brenda."

Elizabeth raises her eyebrows but can't ask any questions because Robin walks back over to the nurses station.

Elizabeth's phone rings and she looks at the caller id before picking it up.

"Hi Brenda."

"Elizabeth…oh good. Um, are you at work, by any chance?"

Elizabeth gently strokes Hope's hair. "You want me to bring Hope down to you?"

"I guess Robin told you not to?" Brenda asks, biting her lip.

"I'll bring her down, but whatever Robin told you…..I agree with."

Elizabeth hangs up the phone.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go see your mommy."


	14. Chapter 14

Brenda Returns – Chapter 14

"Earth to Jax," Carly says, waving her hand in front of her husband's face.

"What? I'm sorry. My mind was someplace else," he says, diverting his attention back to her.

"So I noticed. You okay? You seem a bit preoccupied," she says, sliding her arm around his shoulder.

He holds her arm and rests his cheek against the top of her head. He waited until they had a nice, quiet dinner, just the two of them, before he decided to tell her the news about the bone marrow transplant.

"I talked to Robin today," he says.

"About what?" she asks, cautiously.

"I'm a match. I can be a donor," he says, softly, just waiting for her reaction.

She swallows. She's proud that her husband is willing to do this for someone else, but scared for him at the same time.

"You are?"

He nods.

"So, what does that mean?" she asks, lifting her head to look at his profile.

He looks at her and shifts on the couch a little so that he's facing her.

"I'm going to donate some of my bone marrow to help save a small child."

She moistens her lips. "When?"

"I don't have a specific date, yet but most likely next week."

She bites her lower lip and nods. "And you're sure about this?"

He takes her hands in his. "Yes. I think I know who the little girl is and if you saw her, you'd want to help her, too. She's the most adorable thing."

"I'm sure she is, Jax." Her mouth is getting dry.

"You're upset with me?" he asks.

She shakes her head and looks around. "No, not upset. I'm a little nervous about this…."

"It will be fine," he says, stroking her cheek.

She angrily wipes away a tear.

"I'm sure there are risks…."

He takes her hands in his and nods. "Yes, there are, but I will be fine."

"Have you met her family, yet?" Carly asks, trying to be strong.

He shakes his head. "No. It's odd, I've never seen her parent's with her. She told me today she's from Italy…."

"Italy?" Carly asks, pulling her hand away from his and sitting back a bit.

"Yeah. Weird, huh?"

"I mean, she's Italian? Why come to Port Charles…."

"No, she's not Italian, at least I don't think so. She doesn't speak with an accent. She has dark hair, but beautiful blue eyes," he smiles.

Carly slowly nods and her mind starts churning. "And how long ago did you see her for the first time at the hospital?"

"I'm not sure….a few weeks ago."

"Maybe she has family that lives here," she says, looking off into the distance.

"That could be."

~*~

"Spinelli, I need a huge favor from you," Carly asks Spinelli when she sees him over at Jason's old Penthouse apartment.

"Of course. The Jackal wishes to assist the Valkyrie in any way that he can," Spinelli says as Carly walks past him.

"I want you to hack into GH's files and find out as much as you can about a little girl who is going to get a bone marrow transplant….probably next week sometime."

Spinelli looks confused. "Uh, you care to give the Jackal a little more information to go off of?" he asks, walking over to his laptop. He logs on.

"Okay, she's about 4 or 5 years old. Her name is Hope, but that's all I know."

Spinelli types away and nods as Carly gives him the information.

"Bingo," he says sitting back from his laptop a bit. "Looks like there's a 4 year old child getting a bone marrow transplant next week. The identity is anonymous, though. The surgery date is to be determined."

"Is that all it says?" Carly asks, peering over his shoulder.

"Oh here's her medical history," he says, clicking on a link. "Oh," he says, solemnly. "Looks like the small ailing one has gone through a lot in her short life."

"What does this mean?" Carly asks, pointing to something on the screen.

"Well, it looks like the child has gone through many different types of treatments and these originated in Italy…."

"Can you look this hospital up and then look up Brenda Barrett's information? I need to see if this hospital is anywhere close to where Brenda lives in Italy," she says nervously. She stands up straight and starts to chew on her nail.

Spinelli gives her a shocked look. "As the Valkyrie wishes," he says softly.

~*~

When Carly gets home later that day, Jax looks up from the stack of papers he is reading.

"Hey, where did you go? Marty said you left the Metro Court a couple of hours ago?" he asks, holding out his arm for her to come sit next to him.

"Have you heard from the hospital?" she asks, slowly sitting down next to him.

He shakes his head and has a confused look on his face. "No, not yet. Are you okay?"

Carly nods and looks at her hands, which are lying in her lap. "Yes. Are the boys upstairs?" she asks, looking up at the stairs.

"No, they went out with Mercedes."

She nods again. This time a tear slips down her cheek.

"Carly," Jax says, leaning in closer. "What's wrong?"

"Jax," she says, looking up at him with her red eyes. "This little girl….Hope…"

"Yes," he says, rubbing her back, gently.

"She's about 4 ½, right?"

He nods.

"And she lives in Italy and has dark hair and blue eyes," she says, trying to hold back her tears.

He swallows. "Yes."

"And you're a match for her bone marrow," she whispers, breathlessly.

He looks to the side and closes his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

He has a good idea but he doesn't want to believe that Brenda would keep something like this from him.

"She's your daughter….isn't she?"

He stands up and takes a few steps away. "Carly," he starts but she shakes her head and cuts him off.

"No, Jax. It all makes sense. The final nail in the coffin for me is the fact that you're a match. You know how slim the chances are that you could be a match, Jax? Unless you're related to her?"

She stands up and stares at his back. She can tell he's processing this but didn't seem too surprised.

"You've already thought about this…" she states.

He turns and wipes a hand across his face. "The thought has crossed my mind, yes. But why would Brenda keep this from me? There is no reason…"

"Oh come on, Jax. We don't have enough time for me to list all the reasons…"

"Don't start, Carly…"

"Look," she says, taking a step closer to him, "I know this is a lot to take in right now, but it all makes sense. The timing of the first time you saw Hope was right around when we know Brenda came to town…and if that little girl is Brenda's, Jax? There's no denying she's your daughter. She's 4 ½, which means she was conceived…"

"I know," he says, sullenly. He puts his hands on his waist and looks down at the ground. Suddenly he feels very tired, so he rubs his forehead.

Carly moves to him and rubs her hands up and down his arms. "What are you going to do?" she whispers.

"I need to go talk to Brenda. I need to find out where she's staying…Robin will know," he says, starting to turn around, but Carly stops him.

"I got the address of the house she's renting. You want me to go with you?" she asks, touching his cheek.

He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. "No, I need to do this alone."

~*~

Elizabeth sits on Brenda's couch, holding a sleeping Jake.

"I found Cameron and Hope asleep on the floor, watching "Finding Nemo"," Jason says, coming down the stairs, holding a very groggy Cameron. "I put her in her bed," he mentions to Brenda.

"Oh thanks. Awww, look at him. Must have been all that running around the three of you did earlier," Brenda says, rubbing Cameron's back. She smiles up at Jason.

"I guess that's our sign to leave," Elizabeth says, carefully standing up with Jake, so that she doesn't wake him. "Two sleeping boys."

"You stay here and I'll come back after I put Cameron in his car seat," Jason starts.

"Seriously, Jason," Elizabeth says, rolling her eyes.

"Not because you're pregnant….because he's getting heavier…"

"You're not a good liar," she teases.

"Thanks for coming over for dinner, guys. I know Hope loves spending time with the boys. It's really good for her to try to do normal things right now…"

Jason takes Cameron out to the car.

"Have you gotten a date for the surgery, yet?" Elizabeth asks.

"No, they said they'd call Monday so we can set it up," Brenda says, taking a deep breath. "You're going to be there, right?"

Elizabeth reaches out to Brenda and touches her arm. "Of course. I can request to be on the surgical team if that makes you feel better?"

Brenda smiles through watery eyes. "That would mean a lot to me…."

Elizabeth gives her a reassuring smile.

"You ready?" Jason asks, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah. Thanks for dinner," Elizabeth says, hugging Brenda.

"You're welcome. I love having you guys over….so does Hope."

They walk to the door and Jason tries to take Jake from Elizabeth but she moves so he can't reach him.

"I've got him," she says, walking past him.

Jason smiles and glances at Brenda. "Thanks for dinner, it was a nice evening."

Brenda reaches up and hugs Jason. "Thanks…for everything, Jason. I mean that."

He kisses her forehead. "You're welcome. I can wait with you during the surgery next week, if you want."

"Would you? I'd like that," she says.

Jason turns to leave and practically walks into Jax.

"Jax?" Brenda says. Her heart starts doing flip flops.

"Jax," Jason states, not moving out of his way.

"Jason. I need to speak with Brenda….alone," he says.

Jason glances down at Brenda. "Is that okay with you? Elizabeth can go ahead and take the boys home…"

"No, it's okay," Brenda says, touching Jason's arm. "I'll be fine."

He keeps looking at her.

"Really," she nods.

Jason stares at Jax as he passes by him. His glare basically saying that he better not hurt Brenda.

Jason gets into the car and watches as Jax goes inside and the front door closes behind him.

"Do you think we should stay?" Elizabeth asks him.

"He knows…" Jason says.

Elizabeth nods.

{thanks to marj for help with the direction of the story, I kinda got stuck }


	15. Chapter 15

Brenda Returns – Chapter 15

"Can I get you something?" Brenda asks as she closes the door behind her.

"No, thank you," he says, turning around to face her. She's still standing at the door with her hand on the door knob.

"How…how did you find where I was staying?" she asked, nervously.

"Does it matter?" he shrugs.

She wipes her sweaty hands on her jeans and takes a few steps closer to him. "No, I guess not. So…what's up?"

He looks around the room and tries to find any trace of a small child living there. "You've been spending a lot of time with Elizabeth and Jason?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Not that it's any of your business, but we've shared a few dinners together. You know Jason is my friend…"

"You and Jason couldn't stand each other," he interjects.

She puts her hands on her hips. "He's my ex-husband."

He chuckles. "Right. What a happy marriage that was."

"He helped me leave Port Charles after you left me at the altar. What is your problem…and why are you here?" she asks curiously.

"I just find it odd that you're spending time with a married couple who have 2 small children. Aren't their kids bored when they're here?" he asks, looking around.

She tries to control her breathing, which is starting to become labored.

He knows or he suspects…

"Look, Jax…I'm tired and would like to go to bed. If you could just leave and we can talk about whatever it is tomorrow," she says, starting to walk toward the door.

"This can't wait."

She stops and rubs her forehead.

"Then just say it," she says, turning around quickly.

"Do you….do we have a daughter?"

Well, there it was.

Tears well in her eyes and she blinks as her heart stops. She swallows, not sure what to say.

"Brenda? Just answer me. Do we have a daughter named Hope?"

Brenda's bottom lip starts to quiver.

"I…" she starts, but turns around.

Jax hurries over to her and turns her around.

"Look at me and tell me."

She stares up at him…into the same eyes their little girl has. She knew this day would come, but she still wasn't prepared for it.

"Yes," she whispers, then closes her eyes, afraid to see his reaction.

He lets go of her arms and stares over her head.

"Jax…"

"I don't know what to say," he says, walking around her. "I thought I'd know, but I - I don't…"

"I can explain," she starts, knowing how stupid that sounds.

"You can explain? How you had a baby….OUR baby and didn't tell me?" he asks, trying not to raise his voice too loudly, knowing that Hope was probably asleep upstairs.

"You LEFT me, Jax. On our wedding day. Do you know how that made me feel?" she asks with raw emotion.

"So that gives you the right to keep a child away from me?" he asks, flipping his coat jacket away so his hands can rest on his hips.

"It wasn't like that," she says, shaking her head. She starts to pace. "I left for Italy…ready to start my life over and planning on completely forgetting about you, about us," she snaps.

He winces.

"And Jason helped me get settled. He found me a place to live and a job and I was happy. I was forgetting about my life in Port Charles…my heart was starting to heal."

He shifts his footing.

"And then, I started to not feel well. I thought I had the flu, so I ignored it for a few days. Someone at work joked that I was probably pregnant…which made them all laugh because they knew I hadn't seen anyone since I had been there," she says, folding her arms across her chest.

"So, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive."

He rubs his temples with one of his hands.

"I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have anyone to talk to or who would understand. It opened up all the wounds and felt like salt was being poured into them," she cried.

He continues to watch and listen, knowing that nothing she says will make him change his mind.

"I did try to call you. A few times. One time the phone actually rang but your voicemail picked up, so I hung up. Then the other times I talked myself out of calling."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I felt like you didn't deserve to know?"

He shakes his head. "You were pregnant with _my_ child," he says, touching his chest, "I had every right to know, no matter how – no matter what."

"Nothing in my life made sense at the time, Jax," she rambles off. "I can't give you a good explanation or something that will make this all better or all go away…"

"You're right, you can't."

"I didn't have an easy pregnancy. I was supposed to avoid all stress so I quit worrying about trying to tell you, so that I could carry to term," she sniffed.

"Were you completely alone during all of this?" he asks, not sure why he is feeling any concern for her at this moment.

She wipes a couple of tears from her cheeks and nods. "No. My neighbor, Maria. She helped me a lot. She's been there for us, through it all. She even came to Port Charles with me and Hope, but she needed to get back to her family."

"She was the lady with Hope the first time I saw her," he says.

She nods. "Probably, yes."

Jax paces around, trying to let all of this sink in.

"Okay, so you "couldn't" tell me when you were pregnant," he stops to say. "But what about after she was born?"

"I suffered from post-partum depression. Maria was the one who took care of her for the most part for the first few months. I couldn't even think straight."

"Okay…after that?"

"By the time she was one, I felt so guilty. How could I call you up and tell you you had a one-year-old daughter? My secret just got bigger and bigger and I was too scared to tell you. I had convinced myself that you would try to take her back to Port Charles with you."

He shakes his head. "These are just wonderful excuses, Brenda, but nothing that I'm buying."

"There's nothing that I can say to make you understand," she says matter-of-factly.

"No, there isn't."

She slowly sits down on the couch and wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry," she says so softly that he almost didn't even hear her speak. "I know that's not enough, but I am."

He stares at her. "I have missed 4 ½ years of my daughter's life. She is sick, Brenda! She could have died and I wouldn't have even gotten to know her," he says through gritted teeth.

She closes her eyes, trying not to think about her baby being sick. "But you're going to save her life," she says, looking up at him with such hope in her eyes that it makes him take a step back. "I'll always be grateful for that."

"Were you ever going to see if I was a match for her bone marrow?"

She nods. "Yes."

"What, as a last resort? How many treatments has she gone through when all you had to do is let me know and help?"

She tries not to think of it that way. "Every decision I have made since I found out I was pregnant was to do what was best for her."

He stares at her, but it feels like he's staring through her.

"Say something," she says before wiping her face of tears.

"I can't look at you right now."

She nods and looks at her hands. "You have a lot to process. I think maybe you should go home and think this over before you say or do something…."

"What and take the risk that you'll leave and hide again?"

"I wasn't hiding!" she spits out. "And I'm not going anywhere!"

"Mommy?" a sleepy Hope asks from the stairs.

Brenda and Jax turn to look at their daughter. Brenda rushes over to her. "Oh baby, I'm sorry we woke you…"

"Hi Mr. Jax," Hope says, looking over at Jax.

He bites back all of the emotions he's feeling right now. "Hi Hope," he smiles at her.

"You need to try to go back to bed so you're not so tired in the morning," Brenda says, trying to usher Hope back up the stairs.

"I'm thirsty," Hope says, shaking her head.

"I can get you something to drink? Would you like a glass of water?" Jax asks, taking a step closer to them.

Hope smiles and nods. Brenda pulls her closer to her side when she watches Jax's face to that reaction.

"I'll be right back," he says, leaving the room.

"You know Mr. Jax?" Hope asks Brenda, as they walk down the stairs.

"Yes. A long time ago," she says, sitting down on the couch. She pulls Hope to sit in her lap. "Did you have fun with Cameron and Jake?"

Hope nods and rests her head against Brenda's shoulder.

"Here you go," Jax says, returning back to the room with a glass of water.

"Thank you," Hope says, taking it from him. She takes a sip. Jax can't keep his eyes off of her.

"You're welcome." He sits down on the couch, leaving space between them.

Brenda realizes that Hope was still in her clothes from the day when Jason put her down for the night. "We need to get your pj's on," Brenda says, tugging on Hope's shirt.

Hope looks down and giggles.

"If you want to go get them, I can stay down here with her," Jax says.

Brenda slowly shakes her head. "You can come back tomorrow. I really need to get her up to bed. The doctors say she needs as much rest as possible right now."

He nods. "Okay. I can bring breakfast," he says enthusiastically to Hope. "Do you like pancakes?"

"Yeahhhhh," Hope cheers.

Brenda smiles softly at Hope's reaction and stands up, picking up Hope with her. "Say good night to Jax….and we'll see you tomorrow morning," she says to him.

"Good night, Mr. Jax," Hope waves with her free hand.

"Good night, sweetheart," he says, watching Hope every second until she's out of his sight.

He wants to wait for Brenda to come back down, but knows that she will wait until he leaves. He'll be back in the morning and spend time with his daughter.

When he arrives back home, Carly gets up out of the chair and walks over to him. She puts her arms around him and cradles the back of his head.

"You okay?" she asks.

He wraps his arms around her tightly. "Yes. I got to see my daughter tonight," he whispers.

She closes her eyes and tries not to cry.

~*~

"Hey….I just wanted to let you know I was okay," Brenda tells Jason when she calls after Jax left.

"Good. I was going to check on you in a little bit," he says, glancing over at Elizabeth who is looking at him questioningly.

"I appreciate that," she smiles. "I don't want to keep you, but I'm assuming you have a good lawyer…"

"Yes, I have a good lawyer," he says, sitting down on the bed. Elizabeth crawls over to him from behind and wraps her arms around his shoulders and rests her cheek against his back. "You need me to call her for you?"

"Yeah, just in case. I'd like to see her tomorrow."

"I'll arrange it for you."

"Thank you," she says, closing her eyes briefly.

"So, I take it Jax knows?"

"Yeah," she says, biting her lower lip.

"Did he threaten you?" Elizabeth feels the tension starting in his shoulders and she tries to smooth it away.

"No….no. I mean, he was upset but Hope actually woke up and it sort of gave me an out. He'll be by in the morning with breakfast."

"But you're okay?"

"Yes," she reassures him. "Tell Elizabeth I'm okay, too. I'm sure she's worried."

"I will," he says, glancing over his shoulder. "You know, if there's anything you need…"

"I know, Jason. I appreciate it so much. I'll call Elizabeth tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye," he says before hanging up.

"She's okay?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yes. Jax is coming by for breakfast…he knows about Hope. He saw Hope tonight. But she seemed okay," he shrugs. "She'll call you tomorrow."

Elizabeth sighs. "Okay. Good. I love you," she smiles at him.

He pulls her around so that she's sitting on his lap. "I love you, too."


End file.
